The Right Choice
by Avatarofrage
Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, You have spoken, NARUxANKO. SakuxIno in later chapters. First Fic. On HIATUS
1. The ultimate Decision

A/N This is my first fanfiction, this is partially going to be me getting my bearings before I begin my major one, but I still hope you enjoy this in the meantime.

Constructive criticism is highly welcome, flames will be used to burn trash.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by kishimoto-san

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _**"Demon Speech" **_**'Demon Thoughts'**_

Chapter 1

The Defining Moment

Konohagakure- 12 years ago.

The Yondaime Hokage glanced out the window at the menacing form of the Kyuubi no Youko. It's nine tails lashing out at the landscape, thick steam issuing from its nostrils. The cries of the wounded and dying could just be heard over the malevolent snarling that filled the air.

He sighed as he made the final preparations for the ritual. The ritual that would undoubtedly end his career as a shinobi

'…_not to mention my life.' _ He chuckled darkly to himself. He took one last glance is his son's peaceful form, engraving every detail to memory. The golden tufts upon his head, his brilliant blue eyes, his little toes…

'_That's enough Arashi' _He thought to himself. _'Your people are dying out there and your cooing over your son'. _I pang of guilt twitched in his heart as he stepped out of the window. He gathered his chakra as his hands flashed through some handseals

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" he shouted as he thrusted his palm beneath him. A mass of smoke billowed out from beneath him and moments later his feet hit something soft.

"Hmmm?" "Ah Arashi-kun, why have you summoned me?" A gruff voice asked. As the smoke cleared a giant red toad could be seen with a blonde figure standing on its head.

"Gamabunta-oyabun, the Kyuubi is attacking, I need your help to defeat it" The young Hokage said, his voice tinted with respect for the great beast below him.

"Kyuubi? Tch, you'll need all the help you can get if you're taking on that baka-kitsune"

"Arigato. I have a plan, I just need to get close enough" The summon nodded and began moving towards the colossal bijuu.

"I hope you know what your doing, gaki."

"Trust me Gamabunta-oyabun. I haven't come unprepared" The sad tone in his voice didn't go unnoticed by his familiar.

"You…you're not expecting to survive this one, are you?"

"Iie, at times like this…_sacrifices_ need to be made" Gamabunta raised an eyebrow at this but said nothing.

As they arrived at the edge of the battlefront, cheers could be heard from the remaining shinobi below.

"Hooray, the Yondaime is here!"

"Long live Yondaime-sama"

"This is as close as I can get without risking a hit"

"Don't worry, this should be more than close enough," He said, before looking down at his decimated forces. "All units fall back! Lets finish this in one shot hey?" He boasted cheerfully. The kyuubi's sensitive ears pricked and twitched with annoyance.

"Foolish ningen, I've survived over a thousand years worth of assaults, you think you can take me on? Kukukuku, I think you've been licking toad," The kyuubi said, snarling. Said toad, for his part, settled for glaring at the crimson kitsune. The yondaime took a deep breath and began flashing through what he knew would be his last set of handseals. "At least my last techniques a good one" He chuckled. "Kinjutsu: Shiki Fuuin!" Every living thing within a mile radius shivered as the ethereal form of the Shinigami materialised behind him. "THIS ENDS NOW!!" He let out a cream as he felt the hand of death pass through him. With a bright flash of light the Kyuubi was gone, sealed into a newborn infant. 

"_They say every great shinobi must at some point choose between his family and his loved ones…I just hop…I made the right choice. Naruto my son…You are the true hero tonight" _He let out one final gasp as his soul was ripped from his body, doomed to fight for the rest of eternity within the stomach of the Shinigami.

_A few hours later_

Word spread like wildfire as the shinobi present told of their greatest hero's final moments. Especially the technique he used to defeat the scourge that was the kyuubi. Inside the office of the Hokage, The weathered form of the Sandaime smoked lazily on his pipe as he stared at the Hokage hat he thought he'd worn for the last time.

"_Arashi you young fool, you always did feel the need to make things flashy" _He turned to the crying infant in his arms.

"Now now, Naruto-kun, I'm sure everything's going to be alright." He cooed _'I hope' _He thought grimly. Just then two ANBU walked into the office.

"Sandaime-sama, the council has called a conference to discuss the result of tis attack"

"Hai, tell them I'll be there shortly" The elder ninja groaned, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Time to go over the damage.

In the council chambers 

The meeting with the council did not go well for the aging Sarutobi. Over a quarter of their ninja had been either killed, or where unfit to return to active duty. And the death toll was still rising as the injured began to outnumber their med-nins. Fortunately the beast never reached the village itself or else the civilian deaths would have potentially ruined the village. As the meeting began to draw to a close, one last topic needed to be addressed.

"What is the fate of the beast? Witnesses state there was a flash of light and it just vanished, where did it go?" One of Sarutobi's old team-mates demanded. Sighed again, he slowly rose to his feat.

"As I'm sure yo all know, to kill a bijuu is futile, as they can re-incarnate and be back to full power within a decade." Murmurs started amongst the council members.

"So the demon's still alive?" Uchiha Fugaku spoke up.

"Technically yes, however, the threat has been neutralised"

"How, exactly, do you 'neutralise' a beast of infinite power and destruction?" Hyuuga Hiashi asked, his face expressionless.

"Yondaime utilised one of Konoha's most ancient, and dangerous techniques. A kinjutsu called 'Shiki Fuuin', and managed to successfully seal the Kyuubi into newborn child.

"Jinchuuriki…" Danzou whispered audibly, a mad gleam in his eye. Their where rumours of the Yondaime Kazekage ordering the creation of a jinchuuriki, or demon vessel. The same was said of the Sandaime Raikage. If Konoha also had one o these 'living weapons' it would help keep them on top of the proverbial food chain. Already he was scheming of a way to use this new pawn. More whispers broke out amongst the council-men.

"We should turn it into a living weapon!"

"No, kill it now, before it can regain its strength!"

"We can't risk letting it escape, we should bind in a dungeon!"

"Sandaime-sama" The young Hyuuga head spoke. "The men are not stupid, they will soon realise what happened to the demon, If word got out about this, others might come and try to claim the vessel for themselves, if an enemy of Konoha got their hands on the power of the Kyuubi it could be our downfall"

"That is true, Hyuuga-san, we cannot allow this to happen" Murmurs of agreement could be heard throughout the table. "So be it then, I, as Hokage, Decree that Uzumaki Naruto's status as a jinchuuriki be labelled an S-class secret, violation will be punished by death!" He punctuated this statement by slamming his fist on the table. A cry of agreement went up. "The boy will be placed in a local orphanage, and treated as any other civilian of Konoha" He finished. This time, there where several cries of protest. "Silence! My decision is final. I now call this meeting adjourned." Slowly the men and women began to file out, talking amongst themselves.

"I'm afraid this will have to do for now Naruto, make your father proud" 

Japanese:

Konohagakre-village hidden in leaves

Yondaime-4th

Sandaime- 3rd

Kyuubi no Kitsune- 9-tailed demon fox

Kuchiyose no Jutsu- art of summoning

-Oyabun – boss

Hai- yes

Iie- no

Ningen- human

Shinigami- god of death

Bijuu- tailed beast

Jinchuuriki- power of human sacrifice

-------

A.N: I admit I haven't actually said anything yet, however, I have hinted at what is to come. I would have written more, but it's 4:32 in the morning and I haven't slept yet, so forgive me for needing sleep

On a more important note, I need votes for pairings the choices are;

Haruno Sakura

Hyuuga Hinata

Tenten

Anko

If there anyone else you want say so, but include a vote for one of the above anyway.

I will not accept;

Tsunade(too old)

Ayame(unable to fulfil the role I've got planned I.E civilian)

Fem-Haku (not worth working into)

Fem-Kyuubi(I have plans for kyuubi that make paring with Naruto impossible)

You

Tayuya(enemy)

Kin(she was an extra, who cares about her?)

I think I just eliminated anyone else anyway, but surprise me. Also if possible, your argument for why would be appreciated. I'd rather not get an inbox of "ZOMG SakuRA is teH ShmeX!!!11!!"

There will be no yaoi or yuri, plot suggestions are welcome, however, I have a basic plan of what will happen.

For the record, I have no beta, this is a first draft, and as such, there may be mistakes I've missed. I'm only human…for now.


	2. The Choices of Others

A/N I'd just like to state that I will never post a chapter 1000 words (not including A/N).

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by kishimoto-san

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _**"Demon Speech" **_**'Demon Thoughts'**_

Chapter 2

The Choices of Others

5 Years Later

Uzumaki Naruto was not having a good day, first of all the he had been kicked out of the orphanage. AGAIN. The manager had told him in no uncertain circumstances, should he come back, it would be the last thing he ever did. That just wouldn't do for the young Uzumaki, there was still heaps of things he wanted to do like…eat. His stomach growled in agreement. It had been over two days since he last ate, having been locked in his room when one of the kids said he'd hid him. It always happened, someone would blame him for something he didn't do, and then a grownup would reward him or her for reporting about the 'menace', he would get punished and everyone was happy.

'_Everyone but me_.' He pouted. Second of all, it was raining, not some mere sun shower, he was rather fond of those, no it was downright pouring, His clothes where soaked and clinging, he was drenched to the bone himself, and did he mention he was hungry?

'_What I'd give for some ramen, sweet delicious succulent ramen the way steams…if only the old man opened shop a little earlier, I can't exactly steal any since I don't even know how to make ramen, nah I wouldn't do that to ojisan anyway' _He lost track of time as he wandered across town, his mind wandering with him.

'…_If I remember, that place had some…rice? Yeah they had these huge piles of that rice stuff, you can eat rice…I think'._ He turned sharply and started making his way to a certain point in the marketplace; a small restaurant that was owned by a young couple, both of which lost relatives in the Kyuubi attack 5 years ago.

He soon found the shop he was looking for, it wasn't hard to spot. The bright blue sign overhead was a dead giveaway for anyone. Even for a five year old.

'_If I just walk in and ask for food they'll only hit me and throw me out, how can I get in then?' _He looked out from his position in the shadows and surveyed the premises, after a few moments of looking he noticed the ventilation shaft, and right beneath the shaft was several crates.

'_Perfect, I just have to climb those things, then go in the hole and I'm inside, I'm so smart'. _ Quickly checking for witnesses the ravenous young boy dashed for the pile. He failed to notice the pair of Chuunin watching him from the rooftops. The taller one nodded to his partner and they both vanished. Below, the one and only holder for Kyuubi was making steady progress towards his goal, having climbed two of the six crates to breakfast.

'Almost there, just…a few more to go and…NO!' There was a loud thump is he hit the ground, his hand having slipped on the flat wood. He mumbled a few choice words under his breath before making a second attempt. 

'_He's stubborn, I'll give the brat that much' _One of the soon-to-be assailants stifled a laugh.

Within a few more minutes the scourge of Konoha had reached his prize. He had to resist the urge to cry out with glee as he slid down the chute. There was another thump as he hit the ground for the second time that day.

"I just know someone somewhere is laughing at this," He mumbled under his breath. He glanced around, taking in his surroundings in the growing dawn light. He was in a dim storehouse surrounded by sacks.

"Score!" He cheered, before quickly clamping his hand over his mouth. He quickly moved over to one of the sack and tried to pry it open. When that failed to work he tried kicking, punching and shaking his fist at the bag. When those failed to bear results he grew frustrated and bit into the sack, tearing at it with his teeth. There was a loud ripping noise as the old fabric gave way and rice spilled out onto the floor.

'_At last! Breakfast!' _He whooped in his head. He reached down and picked up a handful of the life-giving grain…

"Well what have we here?" I voice behind him said, panicking he tried to leave the way he came, only to find himself unable to climb up the smooth chute.

"I think I'd call it 'breaking and entering,'" A second voice said. Naruto turned slowly, afraid to face the owners of the voice.

"Oh, not just that, look over there, that's vandalism and theft too, those are serious offences"

"Y'know, I'd say that where responsible to ensure he gets punished for this" The shorter one said, an evil gleam in his eye. Naruto scrabbled into a corner, trying to make himself as small as possible.

"I'd say your right, and from what I've heard it a repeat offence"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, this demon here's been terrorising the village since he came here, from picking fights all the way up to attempted genocide" The taller ones eyes widened with shock surprise.

"No! Really? We'd best ensure he never troubles anyone again then". They both turned and made their way towards to cowering child. His eyes widened in fear as they approached.

"Please…don't hurt me, I swear I'll never do anything bad again, please, just leave me alone, please? WOULD SOMBODY PLEASE HELP ME!" His cries where cut short when the short one hit him across the head. He fell to the ground whimpering. The sound of footsteps could be heard, within moments a young man was standing in the doorway.

"What's going on down her? Why are you in my house?" He demanded angrily.

"Oh, don't worry sir, we just caught the demon brat trying to steal from you" The young mans face twisted from anger to sadistic glee.

"Just make sure he gets everything he deserves"

"Oh we will" The short one laughed as they carried the boy out from the house.

10 minutes later

The tall one wiped the blood off his hands as he dropped the beaten and bruised boy to the ground. The short one grinned inanely as he raised a kunai, preparing to deliver the final blow; he quickly brought it down when…

"Oi, stop!" The tall one cried, the short one flinched before scowling at him.

"Why not, its more than he deserves anyway, or are you having second thoughts?"

"He, hell no. But who knows what will happen if we kill it? What if that frees it restores it powers?" The short one paled considerably, before regaining his composure again.

"But what if it doesn't? What if it dies and stays dead? We'll be heroes!"

"Are you willing to take that risk?" The short one frowned before grinning again.

"I got an idea"

"Oh yeah? What?"

"I'd be surprised if he survived with these injuries, after all…pretty hard to defend yourself when both your arms and legs are broken"

"Yeah…"

"So what say we take him out and leave him to die somewhere, except not her, in case the seal breaks, instead, we dump him in some other country so if he survives he's their problem not ours"

"My friend you are a genius, but we'd have to leave soon, before it wakes up"

"Also, we best not be seen, I hear the Hogake's been tricked by this thing and he might punish us at first, at least, until the demon's spell wears off"

"Right, where should we dump him?"

"Why not Kusa, it' next to fire country so we can just say where patrolling the border, and it's closer to Iwa than Konoha, so it'll probably go there and kill a bunch of them too, it can be our payback for the war"

"That's brilliant, I like the way you think" The tall one said finally, before grabbing the limp boy and flinging him over his shoulder, vanishing with his partner.

Japanese:

Ojisan-old man

Chuunin- journeyman ninja

Kusa-grass (country)

Iwa-Rock (country)

Hokage- fire shadow

A/N well, things are steady moving forward. Also, for the record, the pairings won't take place until after timeskip, until then Naruto won't even see Konoha.

Pairings

NaruHina 4

NaruAnko 3

NaruTen 2

NaruKur 1

Also some guy threatened me with bodily fluids if I make it NaruxHina, so you might argue she's tied with Anko. On a side note, I'm adding Inuzuka Hana (Kiba's Sister) to the options. You have until chapter 6 (7 if your lucky/ undecided) before pairings get finalised.

For the record the following are not available

Tsunade(too old)

Ayame(unable to fulfil the role I've got planned I.E civilian)

Fem-Haku (not worth working into)

Fem-Kyuubi(I have plans for kyuubi that make paring with Naruto impossible)

You

Tayuya (enemy)

Kin (she was an extra, who cares about her?)

Rin (She's gone! Get over it)

And NO YAOI OR YURI, nothing personal just not in this fic


	3. I Chose to Listen

A/N Plot finally starts to truly establish itself, enjoy

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by kishimoto-san

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _**"Demon Speech" **_**'Demon Thoughts'**_

Chapter 3

I Chose to Listen

Unknown Location 

Numb…it was all numb…his body…his mind…his soul…all numb, and soft, and vulnerable, deep within its cage a wicked grin split open like a festering wound.

'_Yes…the kit has been broken…kukuku…all that's left…is to pick up the pieces…'_

Naruto awoke silently, his movements soft and hesitant, hoping against all reason that he was somewhere safe, that it was all a dream, that he was still back in…

'_No…_' His mind thought defiantly. _'I'm not going back'_

'_Never go back, never return'. _The voice was hardly more than a whisper, a dark, seductive whisper. He felt he would do whatever that whisper told him to do.Slowly he opened his eyes, two dim pits of blue and black exposed to the world, where once they seemed to illuminate his surroundings, now they sucked in all the light, leaving only darkness.

'_Where am I?'_

'_Away…safe…free'_

'_Yes…free' _He struggled to stand up, only to fall down again. He looked down at his legs; they where thin and brittle, no longer capable of supporting his full weight on their own. He tried to rise again, using his arms to support him as well. Once he was stable he tried to stand up again, only to collapse like the first time. After several minutes of fruitless struggle he decided to simply remain on all fours. He began moving slowly, only to be painfully reminded of his overbearing hunger.

'_food'_

'_Need food…fresh food'_

'_Fresh food…good food'_

'_Warm food…fresh meat'_

'_fresh meat…'_

'_Prey! Hunt! Kill! Eat!'_

'_Prey. Hunt. Kill. Eat. Prey. Hunt. Kill. Eat.' _The mantra went through his head over and over as he moved slowly. For the first time he looked around, and took in his surroundings. He was in a field, his clothes torn, shredded, and stained with blood. He was surrounded by grass that was taller than he was, when he inhaled he cold smell trees and flowers, when he listened he could hear birds chirping, the wind flowing through the blades of grass, he could hear the rustle of a rabbit moving through the grass. He could feel the snap as he broke its neck, he could taste the glorious blood as he devoured it flesh, he…

'Did I…?' He looked down at the dead animal in his hands; his blood coated hands, however these weren't the hand he was born with. He was sure he didn't have claws before.

'I…killed it…' I painful feeling of guilt washed over him, gnawing at his conscience

'It was food for the stronger, it died so you might live, if you didn't kill it something else wood have, just at a later date. '

'It is…'

'…Food'

'I…'

'Predator'

'I…'

'Eat prey to go on living, that is the way this world works' The young fox boy seemed satisfied by the whispers explanation, his conscience pt to rest on the matter. He returned to eating, ignoring the smears of blood spread across his whiskered face. Tearing off small chunks of meat and swallowing them whole.

"Crunch"

The kitsune jinchuuriki's head snapped up at the noise, he knew it didn't come from him. He flattened his body out against the ground and waited, preparing to fight or flee.

'_Predator? Prey? What do I do?' _His eyes darted back and forth, trying to locate the source of the noise.

"Hey Toyoshi? Did you see something?" I gruff voice spoke somewhat irritated.

"Nah, just my imagination" A second, younger voice said. This one was carefree and seemed to be amused by something.

"Whatever, lets get back to camp, our shifts over anyway". More crunching could be heard as they walked away from the child's still-form. Once he was sure they where gone he moved, emerging from the blades and looking towards the direction where they left.

'More prey?' He licked his lips in anticipation.

'Strong prey…caution'. Moving silently he quickly sped after them, a look of mad hunger in his eyes. No conscious thoughts passed through his head while he moved, just several hundred subconscious ones, taking in every sound, every scent, leading him towards his new quarry. He was getting closer, he could feel it, he was almost there…

'NO!' He slammed his hand down and stopped moving; barley hidden by a bush, his body shaking, his eyes trembled with fear. In front of him, just past the bush, a clearing, and inside the clearing was over a hundred humans, all moving and talking and shouting and laughing, the laughter, it was that same laugh. Memories flashed unbidden before his eyes, angry faces, vicious shouting, pain, blood, and that sickening, vile laughter, they always laughed, every time. He cowered, praying that he would remain unseen, painfully aware of the difference between they and he. He knew he couldn't even hope to take on a single human the way he was, let alone a whole pack.

'These, to them I am prey' He quietly turned and skulked away, keeping his senses open for another rabbit, and making sure to avoid any of the 'humans'

'But someday, once I am stronger…' His eyes flashed red and an animalistic grin found its way onto his face. 'THEY will be the Prey'

If someone had been watching him, they would have seen he was moving faster than he was before, although that could have been explained by his earlier meal.

It wouldn't have explained his now slitted eyes however…

_Several years later_

A young blonde man woke up to find himself lying, naked in an empty field, his skin was deathly pale and he had to struggle to move.

'What did he mean…what deal did I break?" He thought to himself, confused. Slowly, painfully, he began the process of moving limbs that felt like they'd never even touched a day's work, and a body that had never seen the light of day. He was as feeble as a new born. He opened his eyes cautiously; _they _however, had seen more than their share of events, plenty more…

Japanese

Kitsune-fox

Jinchuuriki- lit: power of human sacrifice, a demon container

Toyoshi-random name I made up may or may not mean something.

A/N And…cut, great work everyone, the focus is going to go off Naruto for a little while and back too Konoha, you've got 3-4 more chapters before I close the polls, at the moment…

NaruHina 4

NaruAnko 4

NaruTen 4

NaruKur 1

NaryHana 2

NaruShizu 1

Along with 2 votes of NotHinata, and one vote for KillHinata. Keep in mind I'm ignoring these, I just find them amusing,

For the record, the following are NOT options

Anyfiller girls

Temari

Ino

Anyones Mom

Any non-ninja

Any guys

FemHaku

FemKyuubi

Tsunade

Ayame

Tayuya

Kin

Rin

You (I'm serious, stop voting for this)


	4. Return of the Hero

A/N A familiar face returns to the leaf, a shadow if its former glory

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by kishimoto-san

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _**"Demon Speech" **_**'Demon Thoughts'**_

Chapter 4

Return of the Hero

Konoha, 12 years since Kyuubi's attack

If there I one thing that is most underestimated in this world, it is the human need to survive. Men can survive for days under freezing snow, weeks floating on the ocean, they can drag themselves out from under a pile of rubble with only one leg, go head to head with savage beasts armed with nought but there bare hands, and win.

It's of no surprise then, that, upon finding oneself alone, naked, weak, confused and disorientated, instead of lying still trying to recover, with hints of vultures overhead, this man was, instead, slowly dragging himself across rocks, and mud, and…stuff,

He was barley recognisable, his hair was matted and damp, his skin bruised and bleeding, his mind empty of everything but one word

'Konoha…' 

He ignored the flaring pain that danced across his battered torso, ever so slowly; inch-by-inch he made his way. He had been at it for a solid hour now, a thin trail of red gleamed in the sunlight behind him, insects bit at his raw flesh, and forest animals eyed him hungrily.

Nearby, two chunin where lamenting over the many mysteries of life

"So, keeping all possible variables in mind, and making allowances for any possible variables, what do you think?" One of them, a brown haired nin sporting an untamed head of hair and a bandage across his nose, asked.

"Well…I'd have to say…purple" The other, a more reserved looking nin with a much more respectable haircut replied.

"Bullshit Izumo! She wears white panties, I'm telling you"

"Sorry if I don't agree with you Kotetsu but I just don't see Anko-sempai as someone to wear white _anything_"

"Yeah but because you don't expect her to do so, automatically means she does, you know how unpredictable she is" He replied, waving his arms around for emphasis.

"If she's as unpredictable as you say, then neither of us would be able to guess her colour" A light smirked adorned his features, he knew he'd won this round.

"Yeah well-"

"Koo-noo-haa" A raspy voice called out.

"What?"

"It wasn't me"

"Ko-no-HA" It said again, more forcefully this time.

"Oh for love of-look at that!" Izumo exclaimed loudly, pointing wildly. The object in question was a moaning limp of flesh, a few metres away from the gate.

"I-I thinks it a man"

"He looks barley alive, quick! Get him to the hospital, I'll keep watch, he might have been running from something"

His partner nodded before jumping over to pick up the would-be corpse and shunshin'd away.

_The Hokage Tower, some time later._

The Sandaime Hokage sighed at his desk, he had just finished sorting the academy graduates into teams and it had taken a lot out of him. He pulled out his pipe and put it to his lips.

"I'm getting too old for this" he said to no-one. Konoha had fallen on hard times since the Kyuubi attack and was only just starting to recover. Morale had been low ever since the blonde jinchuuriki had disappeared. Of course it had risen significantly for the first few weeks, however after the celebrations wore down, many found themselves missing the outlet his status as a living punching bag had granted them. At one point there was even whispers of mass departure to another village, possibly the only thing that had stopped it was his students release of his latest novel.

The old Sarutobi would never admit it, but the smut-filled books where quite the life-saver for his career, they gave the economy that extra boost, helped encourage tourists, and gave weary jounin something to keep their mind off the job.

"Speaking of which…" A lecherous grin adorned his face as he slowly reached towards the hidden compartment on his desk. It let out an audible creak as he opened it, revealing the treasure stored inside. To the Sandaime the Kami themselves where singing as he brought out his beloved collectors edition. 

"Hogake-Sama!" A hospital messenger burst through the door.

"_Damn you! I was so close!" _The elderly Hogake quickly hid the orange miracle worker behind his back.

"What is it? I'm rather busy today, what with the new graduates and all" He said sternly, waving his hand in the general direction of the academy, only to realise he was still holding his book. He quickly thirsted it under his desk and tried to maintain a straight face.

"I know sure it's just, well, you'd better come down to the hospital sir, you'll see what I mean when you get there" The Hogake's features instantly set into a frown, he didn't like the sound of this.

Konoha Hospital 

Doctors and nursed flurried around in hysterics over their latest arrival, gossip was spreading like wildfire and soon the whole hospital was in an uproar. Then, suddenly, all went quiet as the Sandaime strode past, ignoring the staff and heading straight towards a specific room.

He pushed the doors open and stepped inside, anxiety gripping his throat; he looked at the bedridden figure and almost had a heart attack.

'_That same blonde hair, that same face, it really is him'_

"What happened? How is he here?" He demanded.

"The guards on watch spotted him trying to crawl into Konoha, They say he collapsed just outside the gates."

"What's his condition?" His eyes never left the limp form on the bed.

"He had multiple lacerations on his front half, probably from crawling on the ground, nothing serious but we cleaned and bandaged them to prevent infection. However, that's not the concerning part"

"Don't leave me hanging, tell me"

"Well, he lacks all but the most basic muscle development, it's a miracle he was even able to move, he's like a newborn baby in more ways than one"

"How so?"

"Well, still have his medical records on file, and the blood test confirms it's definitely him, yet he seems to have lost all his recorded scars and old wounds, like they never happened"

"Will he live?"

"We can only hope, we've hooked him up to a concentrated nutritional feed to try and restore his body back to health, but we can't tell how long that will take, also there's a chance his muscles will never recover unless they receive appropriate exercise, which will be difficult if he remains unconscious, and it's anyone's guess how long until he wakes up, or if he'll even wake up at all, also we can't eliminate the possibility this is a clone created by Orochimaru so it may not even be him after all"

"I suppose all we can do is wait. I want to be informed if there is any changes in his condition, also, his presence here is officially classified an S class secret, and only a select few are to have access to this room,"

"Hai! Hokage-sama"

'_Arashi my boy, I hope you're okay, this village has suffered without you.'_

_Too lazy to do Japanese translations anymore, look them up yourself._

A/N: Wanted to include more, but fingers are freezing in the night, and school tomorrow, can't help but feel unsatisfied with the overall quality of tis chapter, but then agin, everyone say that about their own work.

Pairings Poll: For the record, we don't see Naruto again till post time skip, keep that in mind when voting

NaruHina 7

NaruAnko 5

NaruTen 4

NaruKur 1

NaryHana 2

NaruShizu 1

The following are NOT options

Anyfiller girls

Temari

Ino

Anyones Mom

Any non-ninja

Any guys

FemHaku

FemKyuubi

Tsunade

Ayame

Tayuya

Kin

Rin


	5. What have I done?

A/N Having awoken to find himself back in the realm of the living, the Yondaime Hokage is exposed to just how lo his beloved village is willing to sink.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by Kishimoto-san

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _**"Demon Speech" **_**'Demon Thoughts'**_

Chapter 5

What have I done?

Konoha Hospital 

Beeping, that was the first thing he heard when he awoke, the steady bleep of a heart monitor.

'_What happened? Was…someone injured?' _He tried to open his eyes, only find himself blinded by the bright light, forcing them shut again.

"He-lo?" He spoke out, his voice hoarse and raspy from being unused. He winced as he heard a clipboard smack the ground rather audibly.

"Do-doctor! He's awake! More voices, more shouting, he quickly came to the conclusion that everybody must be partially deaf, either that or he had exceptional hearing. He felt himself slipping into unconsciousness.

"Hokage-sama! Hokage-sama!" The nurse futilely tried to bring him back to consciousness.

'_What sort of apparent calls their kid Hokage' _was all he could think of before slipping into unconsciousness.

---

"Ah, your awake again, Arashi" An elderly voice spoke, full of concern.

"A-ra-shi?" He tried to speak.

"What?"

"Wa-ter" He said, making a drinking motion with his hand.

"Of course" Moments later he felt a cup being placed into his hand. He quickly sat up and gulped the cool liquid down,

"Better" He gasped, having downed the cup.

"So, how are you feeling?"

"I…more water"

"Here" another cup, more gulping.

"I…Arashi? But, that woman said I was 'Hokage'" The Sandaime's brow furrowed.

"It seems you have a touch of amnesia, I suppose that's a small price to pay. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I, it, white. There were…" The blonde groaned with effort. "People, so many people, we where fighting…for so long"

"I see, that corresponds with what they say about that technique"

"Then, a voice…it sounded…He suddenly started coughing, before downing another glass of water.

"The…contract was broken?" Sarutobi gasped, his mind running rampant with what that could mean.

"Everything after that is a blur, all I knew was…I had to reach Konoha"

"Well you can relax now, you're at Konoha right this moment"

"Ah, that's good" Arashi relaxed, before trying to open his eyes again. It hurt, but he could just make out the figure o an old man. He had a small, white goatee and deep wrinkles, his eyes where full of concern. The fourth gasped, all at his memories returning to him.

"S-Sandaime-sama!"

"Ah, so you remember now, but really, I thought I told you to call me Sarutobi"

"Ehehe, sorry" He rubbed the back of his head meekly.

"No there's the kid I chose as my successor"

"That's right, I was the fourth Hokage, but something happened"

"Yes, the Kyuubi attacked, you sacrificed your life to seal it away" The elder Hokage said, trying to hide his nervousness of the subject. _'I hope he doesn't remember about Naruto yet, in his current mind state who knows what he might do'_

"Yes… I used the Shiki-fujin, it was…the only way…but then, where I was fighting, that was inside the Shinigami's stomach, and…that was the Shinigami's voice I heard."

"More than likely"

"And then, the contract, he must have been referring to…the seal!" if it weren't for his weakened body he would have leapt out of bed.

"Calm yourself Arashi!"

"But-the seal must have broken, the Kyuubi! He'll come here for revenge! I-I'm too weak to perform the sealing again, I!"

"I said calm yourself!" The Sandaime said again, his voice hardened and unquestionable.

"The Kyuubi might not be free, don't forget you used three seals to stop the Kyuubi. Even if the Shiki-Fujin broke, the other to would be enough to hold the Kyuubi at bay, it would have been irreversibly bonded to its container by now anyway"

"It's…container?" The blonde asked, his voice taking on an icy tone. Images of the ritual flashed before his eyes, candles, markings, blue eyes, blond hair, a hand clutching his, such a tiny hand…

'Damn it, he's remembered!' 

Deep blue chakra swirled around him, the window rattled against the force of it. His eyes grew wide and unfocused

"The container…"

"Calm yourself Arashi!" Sarutobi started to panic, the Fourth Hokage had been known as a rather tolerant, however, when he got angry, he was known to demolish the landscape with raw bursts of chakra alone, when he actually focused…Rock was still having nightmares over the massacre of their forces on what happened to be the night Rin was killed before the not-yet Hokage's eyes.

"The container…!"

"Damn it Arashi!"

"Where is he?" Subconsciously, he held his hand to his side, as if holding something.

"Where is Naruto?" His chakra began gathering itself in the palm of his hand, rotating slowly.

"Arashi, your in no condition to do this"

"Where is MY SON!!!?" He leapt out of bed, an incomplete Rasengan in his right hand. His legs faltered for a moment before he reinforced his muscles with chakra.

"WHERE IS HE??" He screamed, throwing the misshapen sphere of chakra at his predecessor, damaging the wall in the process. His mind collapsing in on itself, reverting to his base instinct. He let out a howl and tried to run for the door.

"He's gone Arashi!" The Sandaime called after him. He turned his head slowly to glare at the dishevelled old man. The Sandaime couldn't help but flinch at the killing intent.

"What?"

"The-the villagers, they saw him as the demon incarnate, a pair of chuunin, they kidnapped him, took him to grass country"

"…" The Yondaime's chakra flared in anger, gulping the Sandaime continued.

"We sent out search parties, but they never found more than a trace, we got the kidnappers to confess exactly what they did, the injuries they described, the sheer blood loss alone would have been more than a child could survive, he's been listed as dead for five years now"

"Dead?" He asked, hesitantly. The chakra dissapitated as he collapsed to his knees, the fury that kept him standing replaced by fear and sorrow.

"I'm afraid so" The Sandaime said, walking over to the former 'yellow flash'. Unable to take any more, he broke into tears.

"He-He was supposed to by a hero. How could they? He was just a little child"

"They where hurt over your death, and the loss to their families, they anted someone to blame, he was there" Sarutobi bent down, and held the sobbing man in his arms…

"He spent…his whole life living with hate and fear? But…the Kyuubi couldn't touch him, not unless he wanted it to, Naruto was the one in control"

"I'm afraid they couldn't see that"

"It can't be true, he can't be dead. He can't be, you're wrong, you're lying! What is it that makes you lie?" He was beyond words now, the only sound that could be heard was his endless sorrow, echoing into the night.

They remained that way for several hours. They weren't Hokage, not at the moment, now it was just a man who'd lost his son, and his friend comforting him. When he had eventually cried himself to sleep the Sandaime lifted him back onto his bed and sat down next to him, in case he woke up again.

A/N: Yeah, was meant to happen last chapter but stuff happened, if anyone can guess at what I was hinting at in this chapter you get a mention in the next, actually several thing where hinted at, but the main ones the most subtle, kinda. I'll give you a hint; it has to do with people's assumptions about Naruto.

Pairings Poll:

NaruHina 9

NaruAnko 6

NaruTen 4

NaruKur 1

NaryHana 3

NaruShizu 1

The following are NOT options

Any filler girls

Temari

Ino

Anyone's Mom

Any non-ninja

Any guys

FemHaku

FemKyuubi

Tsunade

Ayame

Tayuya

Kin

Rin (I just said that she's dead)


	6. My Swedish Friend

A/N After having an emotional breakdown, Sarutobi feels Arashi needs to see a familiar face.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by Kishimoto-san

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _**"Demonic Speech" **_**'Demonic Thoughts'**_

Chapter 6

My Swedish friend

Kakashi was nervous as he entered the Hokage's office; he'd been hearing some strange rumours circulating amongst the shinobi population lately, reports of him rushing off to meet someone at odd hours, not to be seen until later the next day. Claims of him seen returning home at the dead of night with blood spatters on his clothes. Some even said he was in a violent relationship with a young man, although he dismissed those as the fanciful ramblings of a drunk Anko. Still, something was up with Konoha's protector, and it made the odd eyed jounin anxious.

The door creaked audibly as he opened it, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder if it was just old age, or really a subtly security measure used against would-be idiot assassins.

"Ah, Kakashi-kun, how good to see you again" The Sandaime gave a tired smile, warning bells went off in Kakashi's head,

'_That smile, I haven't seen that smile since sensei died. Oh, wait, used that same smile when the Kyuubi vessel was murdered'_

"You called for me, Hokage-sama?" Although his eye kept it's lazy expression, in reality he was trying to analyse the Hokage's every detail for some sort of clue. After spending over half of his life with only one sharingan, his brain had picked up a knack for detail most people never knew about, there was a reason why he rarely used it, he'd reached a point where his other eye was more than capable of picking up the slack.

"I did, Kakashi-kun. I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss here, and I'm hoping you can remedy it."

'_Does he mean an assassination? It's been years since the Sandaime has ordered an assassination, or at least, personally requested one. Who could it be?' _Kakashi resisted the urge to shuffle on his feet; it wouldn't look well for one of the village's top shinobi to fidget before the Hokage.

"Oh? And how might I be of service?" He asked merrily, maintaining his façade of bemused disinterest.

"Recently, a very dear friend of ours has returned to us, however, he is…dissatisfied with the way things have turned out for him. He's in a very fragile state of mind, and I'm afraid he may go out and…express his dissatisfaction in an unsavoury manner. I was hoping you would be able to calm him down somewhat". Sandaime said, his hands tented in front of him. Kakashi's mind worked to decipher the hidden message.

'_He's speaking in code, he must be afraid of enemy surveillance, lets see…"dear friend that has returned"…an old threat has come back? Something we where once familiar with has returned? Aha! He must mean a well-known traitor; "dissatisfied with the way things turned out" must mean he's trying to escape." "Express his dissatisfaction in an unsavoury manor"? "Unsavoury Manner?" "Manner?" Manor! An "Unsavoury manor!" He must mean the Akamichi house; they virtually never eat savoury foods there! An Akamichi must have played an integral part in his capture and he wants revenge. Obviously "calm him down," means: "Put him to sleep" as in "dead", I wonder who it is? He said he was 'dear to us' meaning we missed him, or at least, Sandaime did…we haven't really had any big betrayals lately…not since…Itachi! We have Itachi captured, but he's trying to make an escape, so I've got to go in and kill him! SHIT I'm supposed to kill Itachi? That guy was like a machine! I could probably rip his arm off and only get a "hn" out of him, hopefully I have backup' _

"I see, how is Itachi-kun doing anyway?" He asked lazily.

"Itachi? Heavens no, it's Arashi! He's come back! But I need your help". The Sandaime practically shouted.

'_Really, what ever gave him the idea I was talking about Itachi'? _Meanwhile, a completely different thought what going through the jounin's head.

'_Sensei? He's alive? But wait? How did an Akamichi manage to capture sensei? Never-mind that , is the Hokage really asking me to kill my own sensei in the hopes that he'll hesitate in attacking me? I…' _Panic washed over his features for a moment before…

"No" He said firmly, shooting the Sarutobi a cold glare.

"No?" The Sandaime asked, greatly confused.

"I refuse to do such a thing, it goes against everything I stand for, if Sensei wants to kill the Akamichi he obviously has a good reason, we should hear him out, maybe he knows something we don't"

"Wha-? Akamichi?" The Sandaime's eyes narrowed "Kakashi, have you been borrowing off Asuma's stash?"

"I can no-what?"

"Kakashi, I'm asking you to talk to your sensei, he's very distressed right now"

"So…you don't want me to kill him for trying to massacre the Akamichi clan?"

"No"

'_I…feel like such a fool, have I been reading too much into things? Am I really that bad at interpretation? Maybe Rin didn't blame me for Obito's death, maybe I wasn't an accident, maybe mommy did love me, maybe-'_

"Kakashi! Please, he needs something to hold on to right now, and you know him better than I do, I've managed to contact Jiraiya and he should be able to help, but he won't be here for several days."

"Of course, I'll do everything I can to help, although, can I ask what he is so upset about and how is he alive in the first place?" The Sandaime let out a sigh.

"I'm afraid both of those are interconnected. You see, he has spent the last twelve years fighting without end inside the stomach of the Shinigami, leaving him mentally unstable. With the death of the Kyuubi the Shinigami seemed to feel he was paying for something no longer owed, so he returned him to the world of the living in a copy of his old body. He's upset because if the Kyuubi's dead, then that means that his son is dead as well, he blames himself and the villagers for what happened to him. He's already lashed out at both himself, and me for not protecting him better. I'm afraid that sooner or later, he'll succeed in breaking out of the hospital and start killing random civilians." All throughout the explanation Kakashi couldn't help but pick up on one thing;

"The jinchuuriki…was his son?"

"Of course, we never told anyone in case word got out and someone sent assassins after him…didn't help him much in the end" The Sandaime sighed again.

"I…see, but…something doesn't add up. The Jin- no, His son was killed years ago, why did the Shinigami only recently release him?"

"Who knows, maybe the Shinigami felt the extra time was needed to provide sufficient payment for the seal, or for allowing him to return, perhaps the Shinigami sees time differently to the way we do and this was a close as he could get. However, there is another possibility"  
"What?" The copy-nin's eyebrow rose with curiosity

"There is a chance…that he somehow managed to survive the attack, and was only recently killed"

"You mean, all those injuries? All that blood? And he survived?"

"Possibly, yes. But don't mention it to Arashi, he's distressed enough as it is, I haven't even told him the extent of the injuries Naruto received in case it set him off again."

"Sensei…where is he?"

"Arashi-kun is currently in a restricted room at the Hospital, his new body was very weak and he could barley stand. He had to drag himself from his place of death to Konoha" The masked jounin's eyes widened in astonishment

"But that's almost five kilometres!" He stammered. "And he still tries to attack you?"

"I'm afraid he has a way of forcing his limbs to move using chakra manipulation, even if his bodies weak his spirits as strong as ever. One time he even started to open the gates on me before I knocked him unconscious."

"I-I see…can I see him? Now I mean?"

"Of course, come with me"

_Later, Konoha hospital_

Arashi sat in his bed, eying the door warily. His mind was foggy but he was sure that door was bad news, just something about it's silver hair…un-youthful

'_Wait? Doors don't have hair' _He blinked as his brain precessed the new information. Standing in front of him, was Hatake Kakashi. Someone he knew.

"AHA KAKAHSI MY ADORABLE STUDENT! I SEE YOUR STILL GOING FOR THE 'HIP, COOL' LOOK!! " He shouted at the stunned ex-ANBU captain.

"S-Sensei??" He stammered, his mind unable to process what he was seeing

"WHAT IS IT MY ADORABLE STUDENT?"

'_He really is insane, and he's acting like Gai. Does this mean that Gai is the way he is because of conflicting love, hatred and self-loathing? Or am I reading to much into things again?'_

"Er…how are you feeling? The doctors say your starting to move around again"

'_You tried to clobber the Sandaime to death'_

"I assure you, I'm fine, good in fact. But the question is, are you good?" He asked, his eyes getting a strange gleam in them. Within a second he had leapt across the room and had Kakashi pinned against the wall, his eyes almost glowed with madness.

"Tell me Kakashi? Have you been a Good Boy? Have you been taking care of Obito like you promised? Like a Good Boy? Obito's a Good Boy you should treat him nicer. Was Naruto a Good Boy? Please tell me, Saru won't tell me anything" He cried out, before slumping back down and the bed, pouting. Kakashi shivered, you could actually hear the capitals on Good Boy.

"Ye-_cough-_yes sensei, Naruto was a very good boy"

"Really?" The Yondaime looked up at him with puppy dog eyes.

'_Hopefully, he doesn't try to kill be again, It's hard to stay on guard while he's like this'_

"Yes, he was a very nice boy, always polite to others. Never asked for more than he was given. Very inquisitive too, always asking questions. He was very attached to Sandaime-sama, always rushing into his office to tell him his latest adventure" Kakashi deliberately left out the far more bleak parts of his description. Like just how little Naruto was ever given, how he was polite out of fear, and addressed everyone as –sama, with few exceptions. His questions where often him trying to understand why he was hated, and his latest adventure was often things most people wouldn't even bother with. He be practically jumping with joy if he found a usable pair of shoes, which wasn't often.

"Please, tell me more"

"Well, he was always energetic, running around the place like there was no tomorrow (_which was a distinct possibility to him) _He could talk your ear off_(He would try to make up for all the words other people ignored, and because of just how rare it was for someone to listen)_ And he loved Ramen_(It was all he had, he clung desperately to life, and ramen meant he wouldn't starve to death for one more day), _if you where feeling sad he'd always try and cheer you up, (_he thought that since he was unhappy, no-one else should be), _He was sharp to_(He was so good at sensing other people he was known to have one-sided conversations with his hidden ANBU guards)._

"See? I told you he was a Good Boy" The Yondaime smiled before laughing to himself.

'_I swear to you, Sensei. I will do everything in my power to get you better'_

A/N: Another chapter, yes I decided to make Yondaime bi-polar. As long as no-one hates it I'll keep him that way, although the Gai thing was a one-off. And yes, that was an indirect reference to the Tobito theory, however, it means nothing, I just thought it was kinda cool. Also I'd like to shout out to Nekmono, for saying something other than a pairing vote, seriously people, when I get a review that's 3 words long It makes me feel like a whore, throw in some criticism, especially since this is the last chance you get to vote on them. On that note, here are the current standings. Oh and the title name? It's from some song I heard, it goes "What have I become? My Swedish friend", The first part can be changed to the previous chapter name soo...I have bizarre logic :P

NaruHina 12

NaruAnko 11

NaruTen 5

NaruKur 1

NaryHana 4

NaruShizu 2

I actually thought Inuzuka Hana would have been more popular, oh well

The following are NOT options

Any filler girls (Not worth the effort)

Temari (She's county property)

Ino (Feeble and unapealing)

Anyone's Mom (Not a fan of MILF)

Any non-ninja (boring)

Any guys (I'm not drunk enough)

FemHaku (Haku's Dead)

FemKyuubi (kyuubi's dead)

Tsunade (she's over 50, saggy and wrinkly, tap that and it might break)

Ayame (simply can't work)

Tayuya (Tayuya's dead)

Kin (Kin's dead)

Rin (Rin's Dead)


	7. Times Gone by, Things to Come

A/N Story starts up now; Yondaime's made an unsteady recovery. He reflects on what has happened in the past few years before heading out on a mission.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, there are owned by Kishimoto-san. Oh and the main pairing has been decided, however, before you storm off in a fury, allow me to explain the kind of relationship they have in the end.

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _** "Demonic Speech" **_**'Demonic Thoughts'**_

Chapter 7

Times Gone By, Things to Come

Konoha, shippuden start 

Tsunade sighed as she looked out over the visage that was Konohagakure, her hand idly seeking the bottle of sake hidden in a draw.

'_Why did I ever agree to this job?' _ The sake found it's way to her mouth and she swallowed, smacking her lips with content.

'_Oh yeah, perks of the job' _She smirked as she sat down at the heavy wooden desk of the Hokage. Truth be told, there where more tan a few stunned faces when she'd accepted the position. Many expected either her teammate Jiraiya to take the job, or else for the Yondaime Hokage to take up his position again. However, Jiraiya refused to give up his free roam privileges, insisting he was needed 'gathering data' for the village. The fact that he wouldn't have time to write icha-icha may also have explained why the council wasn't very insistent. Arashi on the other hand…he never truly recovered from the loss of his son. He was stable, for the most part. However he was prone to sometimes-violent mood swings, and lacked his former focus. He could be perfectly fine one minute, then trying to maim a civilian the next. The only person who could calm him down was Jiraiya, and sometimes Kakashi. As such, he never went on a mission without at least one of them. The fact that Kakashi's team had two vacant slots helped. Not that the circumstances surrounding the reason where any less tragic;

The team had been made up of Haruno Sakura the year's top kunoichi, Uchiha Sasuke the rookie of the year and last Uchiha, and Dareka Daremo the year's deadlast. The team interaction had been shaky at times, but under Kakashi's tutelage and value of teamwork, they had become close friends, with Sasuke even agreeing to go out on a date with Sakura, and Daremo was always making an effort to brighten up the Uchiha genius. But it was not to last, Orochimaru had infiltrated during the chuunin exams with intent to exact his revenge on his old sensei. While doing so he seemed to take it upon himself to leave Sasuke with a taste of the power he offered, appealing to his desire for revenge. When he gave into temptation and left a team of prominent genins was sent to retrieve him, with Daremo at the frontlines. As the other genin stayed back to hold of the sound-nin, it eventually resulted in a confrontation between Daremo and Sasuke, exactly what happened is unkown, Daremo's body was discovered by Kakashi, a chidori hole in his chest, and Sasuke no where to be found. The event had left the remaining team member distraught and scared. Tsunade could only take pity on the poor girl when she had approached her and begged to be taken on as an apprentice, saying she never wanted to lose someone precious to her again.

Now where was she? Oh yes, Arashi and Jiriaya, the two had become almost inseparable; with Jiraiya having to reteach the ex-Hokage the many things he had forgotten in his absence. Oh, he could still fight like a demi-god; he still knew everything he ever did before the sealing about combat. If anything he was better, having been engaged in non-stop combat for a good twelve years did would improve anybody, he didn't even need to think to perform most of his techniques anymore. No, it was the other things, things alien to the battle; how to dress yourself, how to hold chopsticks, it was a miracle he still understood human speech.

Another important change was Arashi's deep mistrust of the civilian population, a large part of the reason for his adamant refusal to don the pointy hat again, no matter how much he tried to put it past him, he never succeeded in forgiving them for their sins against his child. For their part the council accepted his stand on the matter, many not trusting the former 'yellow flash's mental fortitude to give him a position of command again.

Of course, a ninja of such acclaimed strength would hardly be pulled from the force altogether, which brought the Godaime to the task at hand.

'_It's been a while since their last assignment, I'm sure he's probably getting restless' _She thought, glancing at the sheet of paper sitting on her desk.

"Shizune" She barked, her assistant jumping to attention.

"Hai, Hokage-sama"

"Contact Kakashi, tell him his team has a mission"

"Hai, er…who will be the fourth member?" Tsunade groaned, despite having been over two years the team still lacked a permanent fourth member, most potential candidates where either put off my the Blonde's…uniqueness, made a wrong comment about the wrong subject, ranging from Sasuke to Hokage. All up there was only a select few who could work with the team, and all of those where specialists who would be useless on certain missions. For this one…

"Mitarashi Anko, she should be at her house at the moment, although who knows how long she will remain there". The youthful slug sannin tented her hands in front of her, reminiscent of her late sensei.

"Aah…Anko-san's house?" The dark haired medic fidgeted nervously.

"Yes…will that be a problem?"

"NO! I mean, not at all Tsunade-sama"

'What could be so bad about Anko's house? I may have to have ANBU investigate' 

"Good, dismissed"

Knock Knock 

"Who is it?" A voice shouted from behind the door.

"It's me, Shizune, Tsunade-sama says you've got a mission"

"Hmm?" There was an audible creek as the door opened, revealing a bemused Kakashi, a towel wrapped around his waist, another around his head, and shaving cream masking the lower half of his face.

'Damn! Two minutes later and…' 

"I'm sorry, did you say something?"

"I said Tsunade-sama has a mission for you and your team"

"Oh? Tell her I'll be there in ten minutes"

"Of course"

'Yeah right you lazy bastard, I bet I could show you something to get motivated over' Ten minutes later 

Shizune was trembling in fear as she approached the Mitarashi den of evil, as she referred to it. She had only been there once before but it had left a…lasting impression. It was the kind of incident that could shake ones faith in mankind. It took the poor med-nin four days to recover.

Her hand was shaking as she reached for the doorbell

'_Ding-dingaling-ding-dingaling-ding-ding-da-ding-da-ding-dingaling'_

"It's open, come in" A voice answered from within.

'_Why me?' _ She braced herself before opening the door, she unconsciously tread lightly, not wanting to disturb the beast that dwelt within.

"A-anko-san? Tsu-tsunade-sama says you have a mission" Having said her message she quickly turned to leave,

"Shizune-chan!" To some it sounded like a lovesick fangirl, to others a little sister; to Shizune it spelt certain doom.

'_No! Not again' _She quickened her pace and dashed towards the door.

'Almost there, 3, 2, 1,' 

"Waah" She cried out as she was tackled too the floor.

"Shizune-chan!" The tokubetsu-jounin squeeled with delight.

"A-cough-anko-san, I really must be going"

"But Shizune-chan, don't you like me? I thought we had something special, but then you started avoiding me, I've been so lonely without you. No-one to play with…" Images flashed unbidden across Shizune's mind, reminiscents of her last encounter with the snake-apprentice. A blush rose to her cheeks and slight trickle of blood dripped from her nose.

"A-a-a-a-anko-san, w-w-w-what happened l-l-l-last time was a-AH!" She was cut off as the somewhat older woman's fingers found there way into her panties, eliciting a gasp for her search.

"It was what? Shizune-chan" The hormone filled kunoichi purred.

"I-I-it was…mmmph" She moaned as a delicate nail flicked across her bud.

"Yes?"

"I-it" A second hand snaked its way up to her chest, parting the fabric and fondling the soft flesh inside

"Say it" her voice, barley whisper was coated in unbridled lust and desire.

"I-it wa-ohh" She could hardly speak as her climax drew near.

"Admit it"

"I-I-I-I-I-it was the-ooohhh- itwasthe BEST NIGHT OF MY LIFE!" She fell, panting, onto her back as a wave of pleasure washed over her. Anko stood up and sucked on her finger, a smug grin on her face.

"See, that wasn't so hard, you said I had a mission? I supposed I'd better get going then, see ya!" She strode out the door and shut it behind her, leaving the poor, flustered girl slumped on the floor, trying to get her breath back.

"Th-that crazy woman, I-it's no wonder Arashi-sama gets along with her" She tried to sit up only to fall back down agin.

"I…I need a cigarette"

A/N: O.K, In this fic, as Konoha had no Jinchuuriki, and Itachi knew it, Itachi and kisame never came to Konoha, Kakashi etc never fought him, no-one in Konoha knows about Mangekyo, Kakashi hasn't got his own Mankegyo yada yada.

Mild lemony content, I'm putting the rating up to M just in case, how you receive this will probably dictate wether I do any other lemon scenes in this. Poor Shizune, molested by a sex-fiend.

And yes ANKO WON.

Actually, it was a tie, but by the time I received the equaliser, I'd already started on that last scene and didn't want to wait for a tie breaker, and I don't feel I'd be able to pull of having both girls. Also, if I count the Not Hinata votes -1, then she lost by 4. I will say this; Hinata WILL NOT be paired with anyone else.

Someone pointed out that Sakura was never listed amongst the contenders, I have a reason for this…okay, actually I don't, I'd fully intended for her to be a possibility but I missed her when I was writing up the list in Chapter 1, and no-one mentioned it before now, so sorry to all you NaruSaku fans out there but to be honest I'm not to big on that pairing anyway. I suppose it was a subconscious thing when I left her out.

The final votes where:

NaruHina 17

NaruAnko 17

NaruTen 5

NaruKur 1

NaryHana 5

NaruShizu 2

NaruxNot Hinata 4

Kill Hinata 1

NaruxfemNaru 1(Namley, Naruto and a Sexy Naruto, you know who you are 'glares')

I can't help but feel I should have said what changes I would have made to Hinata, had she won. I just never got around to it. But basically she wouldn't have had Naruto to stalk forcing her to either grow some semblance of a backbone, or commit suicide. Obviously I wouldn't have chosen the former. Since she would be post skip, that gives me a lot of leeway into altering her personality etc, se wouldn't be the 'creepy weird girl who stalks and stutters you all stereotype her as FEEL THE GUILT!!.

I really don't now why Hana didn't get more votes, I was actually hoping for this pairing but it would have played out similar to Anko's so it didn't bother me too much. Judging from the comments I think a lot of you thought I meant Hanabi…right. I specifically said when I brought her into the pairings Inuzuka Hana, or didn't you read that???

Oh, and if you have any plot ideas for this fic, tell me, because in about 5 chapters I run dry and am left clutching at straws. That said, I'd like to give mention to Kafaru, without whom I wouldn't even have straws to clutch at. If I fail to find my inspiration I'll start on my second fic, either my epic fic, or else an AU I thought up, both of which are rewrites of canon, the latter of which, however, needs more research don so is unlikely, if I can be bothered I may post a preview summary on my profile, beneath all the crap I have on there.

Kinda long for an A/N, but the chapters approx 1500 words without it so :P

Also, I'd like to recommend **Into the Woods **by **Kyuubiteaser**, one of THE best NaruHina fics out there, I just wish Kyuubiteaser would get back to working on the sequel **Into the Desert .**


	8. What lurks in the Fjord

A/N team Kakashi sets of on their mission, what will they find? Also, an apology at the end.

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, Pairings to be voted on.

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _** "Demonic Speech" **_**'Demonic Thoughts'**_

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Chapter 8

What lurks in the fjord

The Hokag's Office, late morning 

The Godaime Hokage strummed her hand idly on her desk, a knot slowly forming on her forehead. A clock ticked away on the wall behind her. If one was watching closely, they would be able to see her hand slowly edge towards a draw situated beneath her desk.

"Stupid Kakashi-sensei, isn't it an offence to keep the Hokage waiting?" The Godaime's apprentice, and accomplished med-nin said.

"Ah, come now Sakura-chan, I'm sure he'll be here soon" The ex-yondaime said, a smile plastered across his face.

"Seeing as Kakashi still isn't here, there is another issue would like to bring up" Tsunade said, looking up from her musings and staring directly at a certain dango-loving tokubetsu-jounin

"Hm? Something wrong Hokage-sama?" Anko said, her face deadpanned with a look that took years to master.

"As a matter of fact, there is. My assistant Shizune"

"Oh? Did Shizune-chan do something wrong?" She asked, maintaining her _don't know what your talking about _face. Next to her, Arashi tried to muffle a snigger.

"Hehehe, Shizune-chan's been a Bad Girl. She has to be PUNISHED!" He punched his fist into the air for emphasis. Sakura sweat dropped.

'_It's no wonder Sensei's a pervert if this was his sensei, not that HIS sensei was much any better'_ At first Sakura had been exited by the prospect of having a former Hokage on her team, especially since she had been off missions for almost two years since her former team-mates had…departed. That lasted about as long as it took to meet him. As far as first impressions go it wasn't very promising. He, Kakashi, and an aged white haired man had been sitting at a bar table together, making comments about various women present, before giggling. If that wasn't bad enough, when Sakura had walked into the bar, looking for her sensei, the blonde man had immediately pointed to her, and said loud enough for her to hear;

Flashback 

"I'd tap that"

The comment had hung in the air for several seconds and everyone went quiet, Kakashi had a nervous smile on and was trying to slip away unnoticed, the white haired man, which she later learned was Jiraiya, and Arashi's sensei, nodded once before adding his own input.

"Decent legs, interesting hair, no ass, no chest. Cute forehead though"

"Ano(_um)_…maybe we should go…" Kakashi, the only sane one ventured hesitantly, he had heard of the kind of things the Godaime had taught his student, things that frightened him. Techniques that could make any man tremble with fear.

"You…" her voice was icy cold, her hair almost seemed to be blowing from an unseen gust of wind. Her eyes got an evil glint in them that promised pain_(1)_

"Now now, Sakura-chan, they meant no-"

"Don't Sakura-chan me! SHANNARO!" In the time it took to blink she had leapt on to the table, and demolished it with the Slug sannin's signature heal drop. Leaving a small crater and three stunned figures of legend.

End flashback 

It had taken a squad of ANBU to halt her twofold fury, and a skilled team of medics to heal the injuries she had inflicted. Needless to say the Godaime had been rather impressed with her apprentice, although she felt she needed to train a bit harder if it took only one ANBU squad to stop her.

"NO, Arashi, she's missing" Tsunade said, shooting the unstable blonde a quick glare. Over the years she'd decided the best way to deal with his mood swings was to just treat him like she would anyone doing such a thing. It seemed to work, as he stopped mauling random pedestrians after she had made him pay off a significant amount of her gambling debt in fines.

"Really? What happened? Was she mauled by an old lady?" Kakashi said, narrowly dodging the desk drawer that was flung at him. He was, however, enveloped in a cloud of sawdust as the drawer was demolished by the impact.

"YOUR LATE!!" He simply smiled as his student launched into her regular tirade against him.

"You see, I was walking along, when I heard someone begging for help from inside Anko-chan's house, so I decided to investigate it and-"

"LIAR!"

"ENOUGH" The Godaime's voice echoed and everyone present immediately stood to attention.

"Good, now then, today's mission is a B-rank. We've been receiving strange reports from several settlements in an area near the border into Grass country, I want you to investigate, and find out if this is a threat or not. The details are enclosed" She tossed the envelope to Kakashi who deftly caught it.

"Ano, Tsunade-shishou, how long are we to look for?"

"If you fail to uncover anything significant, you are to return within a week. If you do find something you have a month to deal with it as you see appropriate"

"Hai"

XXXXXXXXXXX

_Some distance from Konoha, some time later._

"Ne, Kakashi-senpai, what are we looking for anyway?" Anko said, not turning around as they leapt through the trees.

"According to the reports, someone or something has been prowling the area, stealing livestock. Everyone who went to investigate either turned up dead, found nothing or went missing altogether, the only one to make it back alive had his arm torn off and was gibbering something about a monster."

"Sounds like it's just a wolf or something" Arashi said, his mind set in 'mission mode'

"That would be the case, indeed most of the bodies found has claw and bite marks on their bodies, however, the area surrounding the wounds had 2nd to 3rd degree burns on the surrounding tissue"

"So you think it might be ninja?" Sakura spoke up.

"Could be, it might be a rogue ninja, some sort of summon, or even a lesser demon, although the latter is presumed extinct"

"Ha! Bring it on, I say" Anko said excitedly, resisting the temptation to lick a kunai for effect.

"Don't get overconfident Mitarashi-san" Arashi said, his voice stern.

"Your no fun" She pouted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Four days later 

Sakura slumped onto her hotel bed in defeat. They had been searching the various towns in the area for information, but no one knew anything that wasn't already in the mission report. The bodies of the victims had already been buried, and the villagers adamantly refused to allow them to dig them up for examination.

"Ne, Anko-sempai"

"Nan desuka?"(_What is It?)_

"Ano…I was wondering…what people say about you…is it true?" She asked innocently, unnoticed Anko's gaze turned dark.

"Oh? And what do they say about me?" She replied icily. Sakura consciously shivered

"Er…just that…well…they say you can 'Shake ones faith in mankind', er…is it…true?" She nervously wrung the bed sheets in her hands. Anko's turned to look at her, her face flickering with glee and what could be lust.

"Would you like to find out?" She cooed, before Sakura could reply the other's lips muffled her voice. Her eyes widened, before closing slowly, as she returned the kiss. Just as suddenly they departed again, leaving her panting and hungry. She looked up at the elder kunoichi with pleading eyes.

"Men, women, who cares? It's all about what makes you happy, and when you're happy, nothing else matters." The snake mistress said, her voice quavering slightly.

"After all, lifes more fun that way" She said, her former jovial grin returning. Sakura returned the grin weakly, her mind still reeling from the kiss.

The door opened and Arashi walked in.

"Mitarashi-san, Haruno-san, we have a lead on the survivor, we will find and interview him"

"Hai, come on Sakura-chan" Anko said, jumping off the bed. Sakura nodded, dumbstruck and followed.

XXXXXXXXX

Somewhen later 

The ground crunched as four pairs of footsteps walked across it.

"The person we are looking for, as it turns out, wis an old hermit who lives in a cave near here, he had ran into the nearby town, screaming and bleeding before collapsing, he was taken to the doctor who did what he could, but the old man escaped and is presumed to have returned to his cave" Kakashi said, glancing around.

"How long ago was this?" Sakura asked

"Almost a week ago"

"Great, so he could be dead by now." Anko said dejectedly

"Even if he is, it still gives us an opportunity to examine this thing's work, Ah, here it is" He said, pushing aside a small tree uncovering a small cave in the hill.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Anko called out, her voice echoing eerily.

"Guess not" She shrugged.

"Smell that?" Sakura said, holding her nose.

"Ugh, he must be dead"

Their footsteps resounded throughout the cave as the entered.

"Hey, what's that?" Anko asked, pointing to a huddled up bundle of rags at the end of the cave.

"Probably our witness"

"Huh, go figure, hey Sakura, you do the honors?"

"Sure I guess, ugh, what's that smell? It almost feels like killing intent" She groaned.

"It is" the up-till-now Blonde said.

"What? You mean that guys alive and threatening me?"

"No, it's a special kind of killing intent, it can last for weeks or even months in the one spot, lingering with the taint" He said, his voice taking on a strange monotone, his eyes where wild and unfocused.

'Shit, something's set him off' Kakashi panicked, hoping his mentor wouldn't do anything rash. Said mentor was slowly approaching the bundle, he paused and knelt down, pulling back the filthy rags. 

"My god, THAT'S what happened to him" Sakura gasped. Anko had a look of disgust on her face while Kakashi's bore a look of concern.

"That's…awful" The man's entire face had been scarred, one side completely destroyed. There were bandages wrapped around one shoulder, where his arm had been ripped out of its socket. The bandages where stained black with ichor. There where several gash marks running down his chest, some had exposed muscle. Maggots crawled in and out of his wounds, gorging on the rotten flesh, although many of the maggots were dead and unmoving.

"I know your alive, wake up" The Yondaime said, slapping the man across the face.

"You mean he's alive? Through all that?"

"Barley, now tell me, what did you see?" The man's one remaining eye opened, revealing a sickly yellow orb beneath.

"I saw…death"

"Tell me about 'death"

"It was…like a raging inferno, everything…red. It's eyes, OH ITS EYES!" He jerked and coughed up blood, the tainted dark liquid dribbled from his chin.

"The inferno, what was in it?"

"Eyes, two eyes, water, so much water, it was fighting something, and the tails, Oh the tails, it…it was a demon, a demon of death. DEATH!!!" He wailed, before slumping to the ground. Arashi stood up slowly. Everyone parted as he made his way outside. He stood still and breathed in, his eyes closed as he focused.

"What is he…?" Sakura began

"There" His voice rang sharp, cutting her off. He was looking towards a nearby lake.

"What is it?"

"That lake…it's not on any of the maps" Kakashi's eye widened slightly.

"You mean…"

"Lets go"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A pair of red slitted eyes watched the group as they approached the lake.

'More trespassers, more humans, kill the humans' 

They moved silently as it vanished into the undergrowth, just as the blonde one looked in its direction. The eyes looked at the blonde, and recognition set in. Memories, fighting, pain, anger, blame, joy, a multitude of things flashed through its mind as it stared at the hair.

'That hair, him, fault, revenge' Any plans of subtly gone it leapt out into the open and charged at the group, heading straight for the blonde. 

"_**HOKAGE!!!!!" **_An inhuman cry rang out into the sky, four heads snapped towards the source. The blonde one trembled.

"Na-Naruto?"

And the beast struck

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A/N: Naruto returns, YAY! 'does little dance'. Sorry I'm late, school has a habit of dumping several assessment tasks simultaneously. I'm already behind. Also, I went out to play Friday Night Magic with some friends last night, so yeah.

Okay, I admit when I started out this fic I said there would be no yaoi, but it's just keeps lowing out, to be fair I'll try to add some minor yaoi later, although no yaoi lemons. I'll be looking more in-depth into Anko's character same with Sakura's.

On the topic of pairing, it is Anko, and only Anko. I will try to have a bit of interaction with the other pairing options to give a glimpse into what they would have been like, if I can remember. All you NaruHina fans DO NOT distress, NaruHina is my favorite pairing, and as such, I will be doing several pieces of Naruhina in future, I already have two fics in the works, one of which I hope to cover all of parts 1, 2, and them some. The other is an AU I thought up that I'm pretty sure hasn't been done before. So loom foreword to them.

Remember when Naruto kissed Sasuke? It's the same as then.

Also, check out **The Demon Prince of Konoha ** by **IeatChicken**, its worth reading


	9. Eye to eye, Head to Head, Tooth and Nail

A/N Arashi is faced with the monster of his creation, is there any room in a demon's heart for forgiveness?

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, NaruXAnko, Some yuri

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _

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Chapter 9

Eye to eye, Head to Head, Tooth and Nail

"_**HOKAGE!!!!!"**_There was a red blur as a figure sped towards the group. The Yondaime flinched as a wave of malevolent chakra washed over him, Kyubi's chakra, which could only mean one thing…

"Na-Naruto?" Arashi stammered, before the red blur smashed into him, sending him careening across the ground. He rolled several times before righting himself, sliding to a halt. His head shot up and searched for his assailant, catching sight of him. He let out an audible gasp at what he saw.

The figure had come to a stop in the middle of the lake; a loud growling sound could be heard. An aura of red chakra surrounded a lean, teenaged body. He wore no clothes, and was standing on all fours atop he water. A tail of angry red chakra whipped the air behind him. Matted blonde hair adorned his head, six whisker marks almost seemed gouged into is face, his hands and feet bore claws and when he snarled fangs glinted in the sunlight, his eyes where red with slitted pupils, and where adorned with black markings looking almost like makeup.

An unholy bloodlust filled the air as the Kyuubi jinchuuriki tensed. Not hearing Arashi's stammering, and not waiting for an attack Kakashi raised his headband and flashed through a trio of handseals, wincing as the onslaught of chakra stung his eye. Lightning formed in his palm and the sound of electricity could be heard as he dashed towards the newcomer.

"Raikiri!!" The Kyuubi vessel tried to avoid the attack, however thanks to his Sharingan his attack struck home, plunging right through the teen's left lung. He muttered a curse as he withdrew his hand; he'd been aiming for his heart. He turned to walk away, thinking his opponent was dead. The last thing he felt was a huge wave of killing intent before being launched headfirst into a tree.

"Kakashi-Sensei!" The pink haired medic ran to where he fell, hoping she wasn't too late. Ignoring her, the raging demon sped towards the Yondaime ex-Hokage again. His flesh unmarred from the silver haired jounin's attack.

"**You! Abandonment! Pack Killer!" **He screamed in rage as an arm of chakra extended from his aura and reached for his sire.

"I…I did…I left you…left you to die…" Tears fell freely from the elder blondes eyes as what he saw as his judgement approach him.

"You'll pay for what you did to Kakashi-sensei" Sakura shouted, she drove her fist into the ground, sending fissures towards the jinchuuriki. He deftly leapt out of the way, halting his attack moments from his prize.

"**You! AWAY!" **A pair of clawed, red hands crashed down around her, she leapt out of the way only for them to reform and change direction, grabbing her roughly and flinging her towards the lake. She let out a cry as the demonic chakra burned her skin.

'_This guy, there's no way I can beat him. He survived Kakashi-sensei's prized justu, he's some kind of monster!' _There was an audible crack as she hit the water, she gasped in pain as she tried to maintain consciousness.

Naruto stared down at the source of his anguish. The Yondaime was lying prone on the ground and babbling, his mind doing everything in its power to reject reality.

"**No-one. Alone. FOREVER!" **

"Oi! Fox Face!" He turned slowly to gaze at the remaining member of team Kakashi, directing his full killing intent on the snake woman.

"**Challenge? Ha! Prey! Hahaha!" **He threw his head back as laughter ruptured from his chest. Anko just smirked.

"Oh I'll give you a challenge alright" With that she leapt the shrouded fox-boy, launching several kunai. He grinned and bellowed, imbuing the air with his chakra and blowing the projectiles away.

"**Weak!" **He taunted, only to have a volley of shuriken strike his back. Or at least, hit his chakra shield. He spun around, launching a chakra claw, he grinned as he struck his target, only to frown as the woman changed into a log.

"Sen'eijashu!"_(1)_ He leapt to the side as a volley of snakes flew at him, narrowly missing him. A few of the snakes hissed in complaint as they came in contact with his shroud.

"**Hebi-Hime"**_(2) _He chuckled. His shroud bristled for a moment before resettling. He raised one clawed hand and drove it into the ground, channelling his shroud into the earth. Anko quickly darted away from him, running in a circle around him. He let out a cry and wrenched his arm out of the ground, tearing up a chakra claw and whipping it towards her. She dropped down as it flew overhead, shivering as she felt her flesh heat up. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a reel of wire, stretching it between her teeth.

"Heh Thawxy, Eath Thith" She flung a dozen or so shuriken, each one trailing wire behind it. Clenching the wire in her teeth, the student of Orochimaru jabbed her free hand forward

"Sen'eitajashu!"_(3)_ More, larger, faster snakes sped towards the crimson covered blonde. He leapt into the air and slashed at them with his claws, beheading them. Unfortunately for him, he forget about the shuriken, which proceeded to wrap around him in mid air, she ranked on the wires and they penetrated his shroud, cutting into his skin. The Tokubetsu Jounin rapidly flashed through some seals, before cupping her hand against her mouth

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu!" _(4)_ Streams of fire leapt from her mouth and trailed down the wires, engulfing the berserking jinchuuriki in a pillar of fire.

"Did I get him?"

"**HA, Fire never burn, never burn!" **He bellowed from within the pillar, dispersing the flames. Anko couldn't help but tremble with fear, but only for a moment.

'_Fire can't hurt him, my snakes can't hurt him, weapons can't hurt him, Kakashi's raikiri couldn't stop him but it certainly damaged him, but I don't have any offensive chakra techniques, well…except for _THAT, _yes, I have to use That technique' _Her train of thought was interrupted, however, when a chakra claw impaled her in the shoulder.

"AARGH" She cried out hoarsely, she tried to grab the claw but her hand just got burnt.

"**Fun! But OVER!" **The Kyuubi vessel cried out maniacally, yanking his arm back, sending Anko flying towards him. As she drew near he pulled back his arm and lashed out, gashing her across her stomach before letting her fall to the ground.

Arashi stared as he watched his long-lost son tear through his team.

'_What are you doing? He's killing your team-mates' _The only reason left in his mind shouted at him.

"B-but…that's my son…" He muttered meekly

'_Are you honestly going to sit here and let them die? Are you going to let them pay for your sins?!'_

"No, I…never leave a team member behind, my sins…are mine…" He slowly rose to his feet, raising his head to stare directly at his raging musuko_(son)._

"…Are mine to pay! NARUTO!!"

Naruto flinched as he heard a voice cry out, a name, his name. He scowled. No one ever called him by his name, not even the Kyuubi. He was a demon! He turned to stare at the source of the voice.

'_**Father…fun is over…revenge'**_

He stepped away from Anko's limp body and slowly moved towards the man who cursed him.

"Naruto! I won't let you do this; it's me you want. FIGHT ME!!" The blonde man yelled.

"**Fight…KILL!!" **He dropped back down to all fours and, with a snarl, leapt towards Arashi. He brought out a claw and tried to slash the man, only for him to vanish in a blur. He landed and quickly turned, following the blur and launching another claw. To his frustration he missed and with another blur lost sight of his foe. He quickly sniffed the air, tensed, and did a back flip

"RASENGAN!" The swirling blue orb tore through the end of his tail before dispersing. The wild boy snarled and drove a claw towards his unprotected back, only for him to speed away again. Snarling with anger, his tail slowly split into two, his fangs becoming more pronounced and his shroud darkening slightly. Forgoing the chakra claws he attacked another blur with the claws on his hands, earning his father a bloody shoulder.

'_I guess shunshin isn't enough, I need to render him unconscious before he grows more tails' _With that though in mind he reached into his poach and pulled out a three pronged kunai, the same kind that where feared and loathed in the country of Iwa. He formed a Rasengan in his right hand and flung the kunai. Naruto didn't flinch as it sped past his ear, however he was unprepared for the maelstrom of chakra that drove into his back afterwards. He screeched in pain as it penetrated his chakra shroud and sent him spinning into a rock. As the dust cleared he picked himself up from the rubble, his eyes brimming with contempt.

"**NOT ENOUGH! SHOW ME! SHOW ME THE POWER THAT DEFEATED THE KING OF THE BIJU!!" **With an unearthly growl a third tail began to form behind him. Arashi's eyes narrowed with concern, before lunching the kunai again. Initiating Hiraishin just as it flew past his son's ear he grabbed it out of midair tried to slam another Rasengan into him. However, this time Naruto was ready. As soon as the kunai blew past him he flared his chakra, forcing the Yondaime back and overloading the Rasengan. The former Hokage quickly leapt up into the air and threw the kunai above him. Pulling out a scroll from his vest he initiated hiraishin again, bringing him high into the air. With a quick flourish he smeared some of his blood across the scroll and unfurled it into the air. With an enormous amount of smoke the contents of the scroll materialised, hundreds of three-pronged kunai, each treated with his jutsu-shiki_(5)_ rained down upon the manifestation of fury below him. _(6)_

Many imbedded themselves into his flesh while the majority where plunged into the ground. Initiating Hiraishin once more he vanished with a yellow flash. Naruto scanned the battlefield, scanning for his foe. He caught glimpse of a flash of yellow behind him and spun around to find…nothing. He snarled with frustration as his father repeatedly manifested then vanished, each time in a different place. Each time he used Hiraishin in succession, his kinetic energy and therefore speed increased, till eventually all Naruto could see wash yellow everywhere. Feeling he'd built up enough speed, Arashi brought out a kunai and channelled his chakra into it.

Naruto snarled as he rubbed his eyes, trying to cure himself of the blindness the bright lights where inducing, when suddenly he let out a sharp yip. He glanced at his shoulder, there was a thin red line running along it, however it was already healing. Suddenly another cut formed, this time on his left side, then another on his chest. He staggered back in confusion. As more and more cuts, slashes and gashed appeared on his flesh he tried forming a chakra claw, only to find that somehow his shroud had been dispersed! Letting out a deep, guttural roar he focused on drawing out more power, slowly, despite his recurring wounds, his tails began to form again. 1,2,3…4…5…as the sixth tail struggled to form blood started to ooze from his skin, trailing from his eyes, mixing with his shroud. Turning it to a dark blackish red. His mind slowly began to retreat into his own consciousness as his base instincts took complete control. Suddenly his arm jabbed out, striking Arashi in the back of the head. Stunned, the Yondaime staggered backwards. Concentrating his shroud into a single point, a black sphere started to form at an apex between his tails and mouth. Regaining his composure Arashi looked in shock and horror at the mass of chakra being focused.

'_Did he…create that just by watching my Rasengan?' _He didn't have to guess to know whatever that thing hit would be demolished. Quickly grabbing five on the scattered kunai he tossed them in five separate directions. Several yellow flashes later, he carefully placed the bodies of his fallen comrades against a tree, a safe distance behind his chaotic musuko, before reappearing in front of him again. As the sphere of chakra reached its peak, the out-of-control jinchuuriki opened his faux mouth wide and 'swallowed' the sphere, causing the black shroud to bulge almost humorously. Quickly tossing his last kunai into the air Arashi hoped he would be fast enough.

With a mighty roar the chakra bomb was released, simultaneously Arashi initiated his hiraishin, staring at the enormous swirling mass speeding towards him. As the attack ravage the landscape Naruto's tails started to disappear; 6…5…4…the process stopped at four however as Naruto caught sight of a yellow flash, and his father appeared just a short distance away. He was running low on chakra and felt nauseous from how close that attack had gotten, his clothes where slightly singed from the heat. A feral grin splitting his face from ear to ear Naruto steadily approached the target of his revenge. Arashi looked up through bleary eyes as his only child approach him, his eyes promising death. Arashi couldn't help but smile; his team was safe elsewhere, if his musuko killed him now, then perhaps it would atone slightly for the crime he had committed against him.

"Gomenasai, musuko" He said, just loud enough for Naruto to hear. His son flinched at the words…sorry…his father said sorry…why would he apologise if he abandoned him? Sorry…son…he'd apologised to his son…no one had ever apologised to him before, ever felt repentant for what they'd inflicted upon him…and son, he'd acknowledged him as his child…family…part of his pack…his kin. Naruto trembled, his clawed hand on his father's neck. He failed to notice the rapidly approaching, dark haired woman. Not until she'd already tackled him to the ground.

"This ends now, _Sōjasōsai no Jutsu!" _Twin snakes emerged from her sleeves, and wrapped themselves around the pair.

"Arashi! Get back!" She shouted, the snakes' heads reached each other's and they bit into one another's necks simultaneously. The effect of their venom mixing with their blood and her chakra was instantaneous; both snakes pulsed for a moment, before exploding in a wave of heat and acid.(7)

"ARASHI NOW!!" She shouted, even before she hit the ground. Much of her back had been burnt raw from a mixture of the acid, and Kyuubi's chakra. Naruto didn't fair much better, his tails had receded and without the protection of clothes his skin was much more badly damaged. However, he was still trying to get up, red chakra started to swirl around him again. Arashi nodded grimly before swirling the chakra in his hand once more.

"RASENGAN!" He cried as he drove it into his son's gut, holding him in place with his other hand. After a few moments the Rasengan died down, and Naruto slumped limp into his arms.

"It was never…meant to be this way" He whispered, tears falling onto his musuko's face.

Still holding Naruto in one arm, and gently picking up Anko in the other, he quickly initiated Hiraishin to return to where he left the others. He just hoped Sakura had enough chakra to heal everyone's wounds.

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A/N: Naruto is back, and here to stay. Before any of you say anything, no one is dying just yet. I've already worked out how everyone gets healed etc, and I've thought of everything…for now. Before you complain about the characters being unbalanced in terms of fighting Naruto and who did what, remember

No matter how strong you are your still human, and still susceptible to pain, and can still be knocked unconscious.

When in his tailed states, Naruto's biggest advantage is his resistance to most forms of attacks, Arashi was able to wound him because he was using his own chakra in the kunai to cut through Naruto's shroud and cause it to disperse through isolation of separate parts of it.

Kakashi is easily surprised; kakuzu almost killed him when he destroyed one heart because he assumed he'd killed him.

So how was my first serious fight scene? I spent 4hrs writing this chapter, I can only hope it payed off. Also I'm not the kind of person who can write a decent strategy so most of my fights will probably focus on techniques and power.

_(1) _Hidden Shadow Snake hands

_(2) _Snake princess/lady (as in nobility)

_(3) _Hidden Many Snake Hands

_(4)_ Fire type: Art of the fire dragon-Sasuke used this several times, Anko used this against Orochimaru in FOD

_(5) _Technique formula-what he uses to peform hiraishin

_(6) _I based this off TS Tenten's ougi in Narutimate Hero Accel, it just seemed like the kind of technique to use with it

_(7)_ Twin Snakes Kill Each other; I went with the version used in the Narutimate Hero games as it fitted better.

Oh, about the 'gain kinetic energy as you use consecutive hiraishin' thing, I based that of a similar technique in **Typhoon in the Clouds **by **MountainWind**

Read it


	10. After effects

A/N Their mission accomplished, Team Kakashi returns to Konoha, licking their wounds. As they journey, questions are answered, but more remain unasked.

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, NaruXAnko, Some yuri

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _

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Chapter 10

After effects

There was an eerie silence as the group journeyed home. Every couple of seconds one of the three would risk a glance at the sleeping jinchuuriki, resting almost peacefully on his father's back_(1)_. Sakura, on the left, kept glancing in fear. Kakashi, at the rear, kept glancing with apprehension And Anko to the right, kept glancing out of sheer curiosity.

'_He looks so calm, nothing like how he was before'_ Sakura thought to herself, she winced at the memory of the earlier battle. It had taken a lot out of her to heal everyone's wounds; even then she needed Arashi to seal away the lingering demonic chakra into a scroll. She couldn't help but be amazed at his stamina, being able to perform a high-rank sealing technique after having bested…whatever the boy was. The only reason she was still awake was because of the three soldier pills she had taken. She knew she would be hearing about that later, Tsunade was very strict when it came to substance abuse.

'_You'd think she could at least not drink sake while giving that lecture' _the pink haired medic thought rebelliously. She was mildly surprised when her 'inner-Sakura' didn't add her own comment. She sighed; the battle had really shaken her up. She glanced at the sleeping boy again. Raging red eyes flashed before her mind, she flinched and almost missed the next branch. She noticed her hand was trembling. She couldn't help it, that _Thing _terrified her. Its power was inhuman. True, it wasn't the girl's first near-death experience, but still, she hadn't felt that helpless since…

'_Since Team 7…' _She thought glumly. Sub-consciously she began veering off to the side, increasing the distance between her and the blonde duo.

Anko bore a scowl as she travelled, her back, though healed, was still pink, and highly sensitive. Every brushing twig, every biting insect was like a jagged kunai against her bare back. Of course, being the stubborn jackass that she was, she had refused Kakashi's offer of wearing his vest.

'_Stupid pride, gonna get me killed one day' _She thought somewhat darkly. She wanted to accept, but she just felt so compelled to do the whole 'tough guy…well, tough girl' routine, she found it hard to break out of her mould.

'_I need Dango…' _She thought glumly, before glancing at the 'package' on the ex-Hokage's back.

'_I wonder if he eats humans' _She thought, before grinning. _'I wonder if he _eats _women…' she thought, _her mind drifting elsewhere. She was brought out of her musings by a pair of red, slitted eyes staring back at her.

"Wah!" She cried out, more startled than afraid. The resting jinchuuriki had

"**Hebi-hime scared?" **HeHHe chortled, his voice, while still unnaturally deep and guttural, held a certain mirth within it. Everyone in the party instantly flinched, save Arashi, who was lost within his own mind again.

"You wish you just startled me!" She announced, Kakashi and Sakura stared at her like she was crazy.

'_Is she…provoking him? Didn't she see what he did?'_

'_That woman…does she want to die?'_

"Hehe, can't hide fear. Any of you" He said, laughing at what he perceived as a joke. 

"Without fear, how would we recognise danger?" Kakashi said cryptically.

"**Hehe, Silver-head smarter than most humans, stupid humans try to ignore fear." **He quickly turned to give Sakura a large grin, causing her to flinch, before resting his head on his father's back again.Kakashi narrowed his eye, either in irritation or concern.

"So who are you then? And how do you know Arashi?" He asked

"Ah, he is Arashi, Me? I Mischief" 'Is that his name, or simply a description?' He thought, trying to make sense of the days occurrences. 

"Ok then, what are you?" Kakashi asked, getting irritated.

"What am I? Who knows…" 

"Kakashi, the interrogation can wait until after we report to Hokage-sama." Arashi said sternly. Kakashi picked up on his concern and dropped the subject. Naruto felt himself slipping into sleep once again, he yawned and snuggled close into his fathers back, unfettered by the constant jostling their movement was causing.

They travelled for another half an hour, before Yondaime started to lose his grip.

"Stop here, we'll take an hour break, then we should reach Konoha before sundown." Arashi said, his eyes glancing around for any potential enemies. There were several soft thuds as they each jumped down from the tree branches. As each member of the team unpacked his or her supplies, Arashi gently lowered Naruto onto the ground, before sitting down himself. Soon, the other members of the team were similarly situated in the small clearing. as they rested. Anko found her gaze drawn back to Naruto again. In many ways, the boy was quite beautiful, she thought.

'He's fit, probably from living in the wild for who knows how long. He's got a pair of fangs that would put most Inuzuka to shame, those lines on his face…they almost look like whiskers, and his eyes…' She stared at the black markings around his eyes. 

'_At first I thought it was makeup, but it would have worn off by now if it was…tattoos? No, it's the skin itself that's black, I wonder if…'_

"**Hebi-hime?" **The blonde teen mumbled, looking at the special jounin through half lids.

"Eh?" She muttered, startled yet again. Upon hearing confirmation of his suspicions, Naruto got up and walked towards her, remaining on all fours. He slowly approached her, keeping his eyes locked on hers until eventually hi was staring her in the eye, his face inches from hers. She briefly wondered what he had planned when he started sniffing her.

"Wh-hey!" She started, pushing the teen off her. He fell on his back, only to spring up again.

"**You strong" **He said, flashing her a foxy grin

"**Bu-ut…" **He quickly dashed towards her, tackling her to the ground.

"Oof, what the?"

"**I'm stronger" **He finished, he had her pinned down at the wrists, and his own body was stopping her from getting enough force behind her movements to break free.

"Oh, I suppose that make you king of the world then" She said, sarcastically. Trying to salvage what was left of her dignity.

"**Iie, Shining Storm strongest, Shining Storm king of the world!" **He replied, gesturing his head towards Arashi (3). He was about to say something more when something shiny caught his eye. His attention focused, he scampered towards Sakura, scaring her half to death.

'**What's that?" **He asked, tilting his head to get a better look.

"I-I-it was a gift" She stuttered, clutching the small pendant to her chest.

"**Who from" **He asked, sounding for all the world like a curious child.

"A-ah, from my…old teammate…" She said, her voice taking on a sad tone.

"Team-mate?" He asked, unfamiliar with the word. 

"Er…teammate, like the others here" She said, gesturing to the other ninja.

"Ah, pack" He said, grasping for a familiar concept. 

"Yeah…kinda like a pack. Our other team member had left, so he had gone to retrieve him, bring him back." She gazed down at the piece of metal in her hand

"He broke off a part of his headband, promising to bring our friend back, no matter the cost."

"He…not bring back pack member?" 

"No, the one who he set out to retrieve…killed him, after having beaten him to the brink of death he killed him" She let out a long sigh.

"This…this is all I have left of him now…" She said quietly, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"**Kinslayer" **The jinchuuriki spat angrily.

"What?"

"**Kinslayer, worst kind, don't care about pack, only self."**

"Yes…I just wish I'd realised that before it was to late." She said softly. Deciding to leave her be, Naruto wondered over to Kakashi next. The one-eyed jounin looked on warily at the smiling face before him.

"Why haven't you tried to escape?" Kakashi asked curtly. Naruto gave him a puzzled look.

"No point, Mischief not beat Shining Storm, Mischief part of Shining Storms pack now" He grinned, causing Kakashi to almost flinch 'He's got a set of teeth that would put Gai to shame…' 

"Naruto" Arashi said suddenly. Said nude blonde turned and scurried over to the elder blonde.

"**What is it, Chichiue?" **He asked, his voice calm and reserved, his tone respectful. The other members of the group briefly wonder how Arashi seemed to know his name, not hearing the whiskered teen's reply

"What…what happened? Before we…well, before you found us?" He asked, his face flickering between emotions.

"**Two men, Shark-skin and Evil-eye, they came after me. Said they wanted fox, I told them "Fox is dead" they not believe me. They attacked, I fought back, they ran when injured."**

"Wait, what do you mean, "Fox is dead"" He asked, Naruto scowled.

"**Bastard fox, raised me as it's own, called me 'kit', named me 'Mischeif', taught me how to live, fight, kept me alive. Then, fox attacked me, tried to kill me. Said, "It just wanted a strong container". Fox was kinslayer, I attacked, tore open cage and fought fox. Fox eaten alive, fox dead. Now fox power is all my power. Stupid fox." **He growled lightly as he finished, his hands clawed the ground impatiently.

"**That was three summers ago"**

"I see…you removed the seal"

"**Eh?"**

"When I fought the Kyuubi, I made a deal with death to seal it, in you, by paying with my life. When you removed the seal you broke the deal, so I was revived. Naruto…I…I'd just want to say…I'm sorry for the way things turned out, I did a terrible thing to you…"

"**Chichiue…not all can see future, I…I glad to be part of your pack" **Naruto said, nuzzling his head into his father's side.

"I see, thankyou, Musuko. Come on, its time to go" Arashi said, much of his former downcast mood having been lifted by his son's acceptance. Naruto grinned and leapt up, causing the two young women present to blush.

"Arashi-sensei…I think it would be best if our…'exited' young friend here stayed at the back" Kakashi said sternly, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

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A/N: Something doesn't feel to right about this chapter, I think I tried to explain everything to fast, but I just want to get everyone (cast and audience) up to speed so I don't have to worry about who doesn't know what at inconvenient times.

Yes, Naruto still has the mentality of a six year old, albeit a rather knowledgeable six year old, but yeah.

Next couple of chapters will be spent working on pairings, then I hit that brick wall I mentioned earlier. Someone throw me a hammer.

Also, read **Ramen Gone Astray** by** Tobmaster, **it involves lots of hormone crazed romping around


	11. The Hornets Nest

A/N When Team Kakashi returns, childhood fears surface and Naruto reacts the only way he knows how.

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, NaruXAnko, Some yuri

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto yada yada

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _

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Chapter 11

The Hornets Nest

There was a relative quiet as the group of five approached the gates of Konoha. Kakashi was reading his book, Anko was drooling at the prospect of dango, and Sakura was deep in thought, while Arashi was lost in his. The only one not affected by the calm atmosphere was Naruto, who was growing more anxious as the looming gates drew closer. He didn't like the feeling of fear that seemed to fill his body, not wanting to show fear in front of his newfound pack he bit his lip and tried to work with the fear, embracing it and the paranoia that came with it. Few things could intimidate the young blonde, the things that did he had quickly learned to avoid, fleeing at first fear. If there was something inside those gates that could intimidate him, he wanted to be as alert as possible. His muscles tightened, and his knees bent slightly, allowing for the natural instinct of fight or flight to take precedence. His eyes darted from side to side, looking for any movement.

He eyed the guards warily as they spoke to the silver haired scarecrow, before flinching when they turned to him. He matched their gaze with his, the hairs on his body becoming raised as he prepared for a confrontation.

"That's enough, Naruto" The soothing tone of his father's voice cat through his web of paranoia and caused him to blink, before relaxing slightly.

He quickly followed after his father as they passed through the gates, but not before flashing the guards a toothy grin.

"Tch, who was that guy?"

"And why wasn't he wearing any clothes?"

The incident outside the gate had helped calm Naruto down slightly, but once inside the hidden village fear gripped his mind once again. It was the people, everywhere he looked he saw people. He was fine around small groups, but when they grouped together, _that's _when things went bad, it was just something he knew.

He could feel their eyes on him, cold eyes, eyes that judge and deem unworthy, eyes that had haunted his childhood. Those eyes, they always spoke

"_Die Monster!"_

"_K-keep away from my children Demon!"_

"_I'll finish off what the Yondaime started years ago"_

Unconsciously, he was gripping the hem of his father's shirt, which didn't go unnoticed by the former Hokage.

"Naruto, are you-?" He got cut off when a teenaged boy with red fang marks on his face bumped into him.

"Ahh, sorry about that, didn't see you there" The boy moved to walk away when a deep growl emanated from next to him.

"Huh? Akamaru, what's wrong?" He bent over to look at the large white dog next to him when it let out an angry snarl

"Woah, what's gotten into you?"

Naruto was standing petrified, staring at the large white hound with terror.

'**Dog, dog hunts…always hunted…the dogs…a day…certain day…Fox Hunt' **He quickly glanced around, seeing a small crowd had enclosed around them, looking at him, considering wether to allow him to live or to kill him now, his mind interpreted.

"Akamaru! Akamaru! Down! No!" The large dog broke free of his master's grip and leapt at the blond jinchuuriki, to stunned to do anything, Naruto simply stood their as the hound latched onto his arm. As blood trickled down the limp his brain slowly registered what was happening.

'**T-they attacked, they're coming, they're coming! The-the pain! RUN!'**

"**AAAAHH!!!" **His scream echoed loudly throughout the area, he released a panicked burst of red chakra, accompanied by a healthy dose of killing intent. The dog on his arm instantly let go, running back to its master whimpering. Every ninja that had experienced the attack of the Kyuubi had the same expression on their face, one of absolute fear and hatred. With another feral cry Naruto fled the scene, leaping over the crowd and landing on all fours, traces of demonic chakra trailing behind him in wisps.

It took Arashi exactly even seconds to recover from the blast of youki, it had taken Naruto exactly five to flee out of site.

"Shit! Follow Me," He shouted, gesturing to his team.

'_You stupid idiot, you know how he was treated here, of course he's going to have a bad reaction when he comes back, why did that stupid dog have to attack him' _

Naruto was pelting through the streets of Konoha at breakneck speeds, barrelling past men, women and children alike. All of his senses where working overtime, trying to find an escape, a means to get away from the angry mob he was sure was chasing him just like all the other times. He was running for a good ten minutes before…

'_**There! Sanctuary!' **_He quickly changed direction and sped round a corner, following the new trail. It led him through alleyways, across the market, and over several houses. As he drew closer he braced himself before leaping across the street, flying over the counter and landing next to a startled girl in her late teens. He stopped hearing the sounds of the masses, crying out for his blood, he stopped seeing the angry faces, the cold eyes, there was only himself, safe behind a barricade of wood.

Ayame stared, frightened at the naked figure that had leapt behind the counter

'_Is he a madman? An escaped criminal?' _Her train of thought was interrupted when a kunoichi ran up to the stand, her brown eyes searching almost frantically

"Mischief? I know you're here!" She called out, grateful that Orochimaru had hammered into her head how to recognise chakra signatures.

"**H-Hebi-hime?" **He called out hesitantly. When Anko looked over the counter she was startled by what she saw.

Gone was the self-confident, prideful creature of power and influence that she had fought, in its place was a scared, frightened boy, unsure of the world, knowing only how to survive another day. He was no longer a being to be feared and revered, he was just another human, someone who had lost everything and was trying to cling to what he had left. Slowly she reached out to touch him, to reassure the young man. He stared at her with wide, fear filled eyes.

"Naruto!" In less than a second, Arashi had leapt over the counter and embraced his son tightly. Naruto started to raise his hands before letting them slump, settling for burying his head into his fathers chest, as tears flowed freely from his eyes.

"**Chichiue, don't…do**n't go, never again, never alone again" He pleaded, he looked up and gazed at his father, for the first time in over sixteen years, blue eyes met blue eyes, their vibrant depths reflected in one another's.

"I swear, I will always be there for you Naruto, musuko"

Anko's eyes widened slightly.

"T-that's his son?" She gasped softly, just as Sakura and Kakashi arrived, all three having heard the emotional exchange. Kakashi coughed.

"Sensei, we still need to report to the Hokage, do you want us to go ahead or…"

"No, we'll be there in a minute, just…give us a second" He answered softly, cradling his firstborn's shaking body in his arms.

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A/N, yet again, I feel the need to end it before I cover everything I wanted to. Oh well, not like I only have so many chapters to finish it. Oh and good news, I think I found a way through the brick wall! If all goes well, I should be able to wrap up the fic in about 4-5 chapters.

I'm sorry about not working on the pairing so much, but I feel its more important to establish a strong bond between Naruto and his father, before working on any relationships.

Once I finish this fic, I'll get started on my epic rewrite, featuring NaruHina, basically it's another 'Naruto done my way' fics, before you cringe and etc, I give you a clue, I'm going to be borrowing heavily from elements of traditional Japanese beliefs and customs. I have a bit more info posted on my profile.

Read…**Caged Fox** by **General Badaxe **for some NarufemKyuu, and NaruHina. And lots of violence.


	12. Home?

A/N: After explaining things to the Hokage, Team Kakashi returns to their homes, some reflecting on their past, while others prepare for the future.

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, NaruXAnko, Some yuri

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto yada yada

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _** "Demon Speech" **_**'Demon Thoughts'**_

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Chapter 12

Home?

Tsunade tapped her finger against the heavy wooden desk as she idly waited, a look of annoyance upon her face.

'_The guards said Kakashi's team was back, they should be here by now…if Kakashi tries one of his excuses again, I'll find that old lady he seems so fond of helping and ram her straight up his…'_

"Ano, Tsunade-sama?" Shizune said, growing concerned over her mentor's growing murderous grin.

"Huh? What?" She replied curtly, disappointed at having her violent fantasies interrupted.

"Ah! Its just that Team Kakashi is here to see you"

"Right! Send them in!" Tsunade said exuberantly, rubbing her hands together and grinning maniacally. Shizune flinched before turning to the door.

"You can come in now," She said, before scooting to her position near the Hokage's desk. Tsunade narrowed her eyes in a calculating expression as five people filed in, her hand reached towards the pocket on her jacket in preparation.

"So, Hatake, why where you late this time?" The buxom blonde asked accusingly.

"Maa maa, we where on our way here when Sensei's son ran off, so we decided to go and retrieve him from the Ramen stand before coming here" The silver haired jounin said, doing his patented eye-smile.

"Hatake, of all your excuses you've ever had, this is by far the most feeble, pathetic, blatantly obvious ones to date, why I outa…"

"Ano…Tsunade-shishou, it's not a lie…" Sakura said hesitantly. Tsunade paused, her fist half way through an overdramatic shake, as she eyed the team critically.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" She said coolly, taking the time to cross-examine the five nin standing in front of her.

'_Wait five?' _She quickly went over a head count,

'Pinky, crazy blonde, crazy chick, one eye, crazy blonde…wait a minute…' 

"Who is this?" She demanded, pointing an accusatory finger towards the extra blonde.

"And why doesn't he have any pants on?" She elaborated, lowering her finger somewhat. Tem Kakashi had the decency to look sheepish, while Naruto stood there, eyeing the female hokage.

"Er…"

"It kinda…"

"Slipped our minds…"

"Better this way…" Anko mumbled. Tsunade raised a bemused eyebrow at her excuse.

"Care to repeat that?"

"I said I don't think pants would suit him, Tsunade-sama" Anko replied, her face set firmly to deadpan.

"And, who is he?"

"Hokage-sama, I'd like you to meet Naruto…" Arashi was cut off when Naruto chose to leap onto the Hokage's desk and stare at her oversized chest critically.

"**Demon stone…" **The feral blonde said, his red eyes somewhat glazed over as he gazed at the necklace around her neck. Tsunade raised her fist to strike the whiskered boy, only to freeze at what was said next.

"…My son" Arashi finished. Having lost interest, Naruto leapt off the desk and wondered over to the coat rack in the corner of the office. He gently picked up the pointed Hokage hat and brought it to eye level, before grinning and biting into it.

"Naruto! No" Arashi said. Naruto pouted before letting the hat drop to the ground. Anko snorted as she tried to stifle a giggle.

"Care to explain, I thought your son was officially listed as dead, as of eight years ago." Tsunade said, ignoring the antics of the immature teen. Kakashi shrugged,

"Sensei will have to explain, we're just as in the dark as you are."

"I see, Arashi, the podium's all yours, care to explain this…'bundle of joy' that is destroying my office?" Arashi stiffened momentarily before replacing the hat on its stool. He turned around to talk, his face void of all emotion.

'_Is it really that hard for him to deal with emotional pain? It can't be healthy…' _Tsunade thought grimly, reflecting on his coping mechanism.

"Going by several first and second hand accounts," He began, his voice flat and dead. Kakashi sighed. "I have managed to piece together an accurate concept of what had happened."

"Go on"

"As you know, several years ago, one Uzumaki Naruto, my son, and jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi-" He was interrupted as Naruto let out what sounded like an angry cough. "-Was…assaulted by a pair of rogue chuunin acting on their own interests, and left for dead outside the border of fire country. Shortly after his arrival, Kyuubi-" Another cough, slightly louder.

"Made contact with him, and instructed him on how to stay alive, and how to draw upon its power. Approximately two-an-a-half years ago, Kyuubi attempted to take control of Naruto-" There was a definite snarl, and the sound of a vase breaking against the ground. No one flinched.

"Naruto retaliated, and removed the seal in order to reach the Kyuubi, and then proceeded to…'attack and devour' the Kyuubi in its entirety. This action is what resulted in my being released from the Shinigami at the same time. Naruto then proceeded to live as he always had, living of the wild, and the livestock of a nearby settlement."

"**They good meat, there" **Naruto offered.

"About a fortnight ago, he was attacked by two unknown individuals, one possessing 'evil eyes', the other seemingly possessing some affiliation with a shark. Shortly after this attack, the villagers applied for shinobi aid. My team responded, and shortly after arrival-"

"You call a week shortly?" Anko scoffed. Arashi ignored her.

"-Shortly after arrival, we encountered Naruto, who, upon laying sight on us, launched an attack. Thanks to the combined efforts of the team as a whole, however, we where able to subdue him, and Naruto, after some…'explaining', agreed to return with us. As his Father, he will be living with me, and be under my protection, and as such my responsibility" As the former Hokage said the last part, his voice took on a harsh tone, leaving no room for argument.

"I…see, so be it. Your all dismissed, take a weeks holiday or something, good day." She said sternly. The group turned to leave, Naruto filing behind Arashi.

"Hatake, I'd like a word with you…"

"Hokage-sama?" Kakashi said, pausing as he reached the door. The other members of his team filed past him.

XXXXX

With Naruto and Arashi 

As Arashi led Naruto to his house, his mind was frantically racing, self-doubt and fear invading his chaos. As usual, when he didn't know what to do with these painful emotions, he hid them. A large grin upon his face, he turned to his son.

"It'll be great once I show you my place, it's not much but it's enough to get by. There's a pool, and a garden, and its close to the forest. Lots of wildlife, fresh air, away from all the hustle and bustle of the main centre, you should get a load of the view, oh and…" Naruto let his mind wonder as his somewhat deranged father rambled on. He briefly wondered about the woman he'd seen back at the tower.

'_**She strong…but chichiue stronger…yet she pack leader? Shouldn't strongest be pack leader? Maybe ask chichiue…'**_

"**Chichiue?"**

"Hmm? Nan desu ka?"

"**You stronger than old woman…yet old woman pack leader…why you not pack leader?" **Arashi was taken aback somewhat by the question; he had to admit that Naruto was certainly more perceptive than how he came across.

"The person who leads the village is called the Hokage, at one point…I was the Hokage, but I sacrificed myself to seal the Kyuubi when it attacked, in order to save the village. When you defeated Kyuubi, you set me free. However, I had lost…much. I was…no longer fit to lead, as such, Tsunade, and older but more experienced ninja than me took up the position. I do not regret the decision" Arashi closed his eyes as he relayed the past several years to his son. Naruto scrunched his brow as he tried to interpret what he was just told; attempting to apply the knowledge to the image of his father he was painting in his mind.

"So…Chichiue…gave up himself to defeat fox, chichiue come back…but still missing something…so now weaker than used to be" "Hai, you could put it like that, although…" Arashi paused for a second to smile at his son. "…I think I may have found what I had lost" 

Naruto cocked his head to look at his father, before smiling. Not understanding what the elder blonde meant.

XXXXX

With Sakura 

Sakura sighed as she slumped down on her bed. Long missions had always tired her, then again so did near death experiences. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand and groaned, seeing that it was only four in the afternoon. Her face formed itself into a frown as it found its way to her old team photo.

'_Uchiha…Sasuke…' _She had honestly loved that boy, but apparently it wasn't enough to sate his desire for revenge. Occasionally they received reports about a dark haired fire and lightning user, but she'd stopped caring after the first six months. As far as she was concerned the Uchiha clan was dead. Her eyes travelled to the other person standing next to her.

'_Dareko…Daremo' _The boy that had given his life in an attempt to save his teammate from his own personal darkness…and failed. Shortly after his death, she had learned that Daremo had actually had feelings for his pink haired teammate, but had never voiced them out of fear of rejection. That had been a painful blow for her, knowing her teammate had died trying to keep her happy. Sakura sighed; she had terrible luck when it came to men. When she had finally gotten over the death and betrayal of her teammates Tsunade had convinced her to try seeing some of the other boys in her generation. She had gone out with Inuzuka Kiba for a while, but they broke up when she found him cheating on her with another girl. Hell, she'd even gone out with Rock Lee for a while, but in the end they drifted apart, driven away by their conflicting personalities. They where still friends, they just both knew it would never work out as anything more. After that, she had pretty much given up on relationships and thrown herself into training to keep her mind off things. It caused Tsunade no end of grief to see her apprentice do this to herself, but Sakura didn't mind. As long as she was useful nothing else mattered, as long as there where times she could say she was 'happy'.

Her mind drifted on to the incident with Anko, right before they'd found Arashi's son. Her cheeks matched her hair for a moment as he remembered just what had happened. She wondered why Anko had decided to do that…did she actually find Sakura attractive? If so then she'd never hinted towards it on any of her previous missions with the snake woman. Anko's words came to mind as she thought about it;

"It's all about what makes you happy, and when you're happy, nothing else matters." She murmured out loud. She knew how that felt, to be drowning in the sorrow, desperately clinging to something, anything to make it all the more bearable. Anko, it seemed, had casual sex to escape her pain, and Sakura had her apprenticeship, but still…you could only immerse yourself in your work for so long until it becomes a part of your darkness, and you lose your means of excape.

Sakura shook her head, as if to clear her mind of these melancholic thoughts.

"I suppose I might as well eat out" She murmured to her quiet apartment.

XXXXX

With Anko 

Anko was smiling as she returned to her home, a small, quiet cottage at the far end of the forest of death. She was smiling as she found her fridge almost empty, smiling as she sat down in a chair in front of the fire, smiling as tears ran down her face. After a solid ten minutes her smile finally fell away, replaced with a hollow looking expression of disinterest, giving her the appearance of a mindless drone. It was a face she had worn often towards the end of her apprenticeship to the snake sannin, and well into her self-imposed exile within her own village. She got up and walked into the bathroom, shedding her damaged clothes and turning on the shower. Her smile, that was something she had created for the Yondaime Hokage, one of the few people who could see past the teachings of the snake. She had worn it so he would let her suffer in silence, thinking that she had recovered. She could still walk; she just used alcohol and sex as crutches. Many saw her as nothing but a mentally unstable, nymphomaniac. That was probably the way she saw herself if anyone asked her about it. But the truth was it went far deeper than that, she would make dramatic entrances as a way to get people to look at her in something other than fear and disgust, something she had learned from Maito Gai. Her mind drifted to the spandex glad jounin as she stepped into the shower.

There probably was only about half a dozen ninja's in the world left that knew of Gai's past, herself, Hatake Kakashi, his student, and Shikaku Nara. Back then he had worn complex camouflage instead of green spandex, back then his hair fell around his face like sticks dancing in the wind. Back then 'Konoha's Green Beast' was one of the most feared and loathed shinobi across the world. Back then he had gone under a different name. He could break bones with a single strike, and destroy whole armies on his own. Lurking mongst the undergrowth, he could render an entire division of shinobi incapacitated for months, years, even for life, in a matter of seconds. But it came at a heavy price, many who knew of his reputation avoided him like the plague, no one save a few would look him in the eye. Eventually he snapped, cut his hair into a bowl, threw out his assassination clothes for a mock parody of stealth, and took to making proclamations of 'the power of youth' to further degrade himself. Within a month no one recognised him as the same person they saw as a demon. Even now he was teaching a student the same techniques that had granted him an A in the bingo books, yet thanks to his 'mask of youth' he shared with his student no one blinked twice, and if they did it was for the mutual hugging.

As for the sex, that was perhaps the only thing that had kept her from suicide for almost twenty years. For a short time there was something other than killing that she was good at. To be able to bring pleasure to other people, to make them happy, it made her feel wanted, if only for a short time.

The image of the blonde teen her group had picked up flashed through her mind. That boy, Naruto, at first he had seemed like the antithesis for all that ruled her life. Free of obligations, responsibilities, and reputations, more of an entity than a person. But that image had shattered when she saw him at the ramen stand, for all his power he was trembling in fear, it had forced her to remember just how bad his life had been before he has removed from Konoha. She couln't help but feel it was cruel to force him back into a world that didn't want him. Yet he seemed overjoyed by it, even if it was only a means to remain with his father. It seemed he would endure anything for that man. But still, Anko had to admit that he was no less free than he had been a day ago, the only thing keeping him here was his own choice, and she doubted the boys father would stop him from leaving, no-one else could, that's for sure. When she fought him, it was like fighting a god. The sensation of just being near that power had been intoxicating for her, if he had of killed her there she would have died happy. In a way she had to admit, some part of her was probably hoping for that outcome, which was probably why she had used the _Sōjasōsai_, a something that was listed as a kinjutsu under suicidal. Anko smirked, she couldn't help but find it amusing the technique Orochimaru had created to cause death had been used to save a life. Feeling slightly better Anko stepped out of the shower and turned of the tap. Throwing on some spare clothes she decided to head out into town and stock up on supplies.

XXXXX

_With Kakashi_

"What did you want to see me for, Hokage-sama?" He asked, all signs of laziness vanished.

"I feel simply allowing a potential hazard into the village based on the words of a mentally unstable father to be too big a risk for my liking, I wanted to hear your perspective on exactly what happened.

"I see, I'll tell you what I know, but I'm afraid I was knocked out early into the battle"

"Oh? Arashi said the whole team had contributed to the fight"

"Sensei feels the need to embellish everything, by 'contribution' was a raikiri through the kids chest" He chuckled darkly, Tsunade's eyes widened in shock.

"And why, pray tell, did you do that?"

"A person emanating demonic chakra, same as that of the Kyuubi which nearly wiped ot the village sixteen years ago, appears and shouts out vows of vengeance against the Hokage normally warrants immediate action. Had I known it was sensei's son I might have reconsidered." Tsunade frowned at the 'might'.

"And what happened after you attacked him?"

"Believing he was dead I turned around, I was then struck by an enourmous killing intent and was rendered unconscious by an impact into a tree. I can safely say that any wound from the raikiri had completely healed away."

"That's…impressive healing, do you know anything else?"

"I questioned Sakura during our journey, she described him as having 'tails' of chakra, she was defeated shortly after healing by wounds, where she not so adept at chakra control she would have drowned. She managed to perform water walking while unconscious from broken bones."

"So Anko and Arashi defeated him on their own?"

"I don't know for sure, the damage Anko received suggests she used _Sōjasōsai _at some point, there were a large number of craters in the landscape, a particularly large gouge the length of a large lake, and a large number of Arashi's Hiraishin kunai where present on the battlefield, exactly how the jinchuuriki was defeated I do not know, as he had already healed any wounds sustained by the time I came to"

"I see, so he is extremely powerful, and what do you think about his claim of the Kyuubi being dead?"

"All we know for sure is that the seal was released, the exact fate of the Kyuubi is unknown"

"Is it possible Kyuubi is, in fact, the one in control?"

"Perhaps, but if that is true then Kyuubi is an exceptionally good actor."

"What do you mean?" Tsunade asked, Kakashi then went on to describe what he'd seen at the ramen stand.

"I see, so that is unlikely, but it is still possible Kyuubi is dormant within him somewhere?"

"Hai"

"I see, I'll ask you this then, Hatake, do you believe he poses a threat to Konoha or its inabitants?"

"He acts solely on impulse, and seems to disregard anyone other than Arashi-sensei, if provoked, it can be expected that he will respond in turn, and his demonic powers seem to be tied to his emotions."

"So your saying is one slip up and he just may level he whole city?"

"That may be, but he also seems to have a very unyielding set of values, he expresses distaste for what he calls 'kinslayers' and seems to follow a self appointed pack system, with Arashi-sensei designated as the leader"

"So in the end it all revolves around Arashi? I see…the council will have to be informed of this. You're dismissed". Kakashi bowed and left via shunshin. Tsunade groaned and reached for a bottle of sake.

XXXX

With Naruto and Arashi 

Arashi looked over his son who was staring intently into a closet. It had been quite a battle to get the grimy teen to take a bath, as he seemed to see it as a sort of game. Eventually they had success, and Arashi was observing the spoils of his war. Naruto's hair no longer clung to his scalp and neck, instead falling around his face in a way similar to his father's. His whisker marks no longer seemed quite so intimidating without the leaves in his hair, or the dried blood on his face, and the markings around his eyes seemed to be accentuating his grin, more than his red, slitted eyes. Arashi had managed to get the boy into a pair of black pants, and was now trying to work out what else he should wear. He was brought out of his thoughts when Naruto held up something for him to see.

"So, you like that do you?" He asked jovially, Naruto nodded energetically.

"Okay then, lets get that on you"

Fifteen minutes later Naruto was admiring himself over in a mirror, after taking the obligatory ten minutes of chasing is own reflection and looking behind the mirror. Along with his black pants, Naruto had found one of Arashi's old overcoats. As opposed to Arashi's preferred white ones, with the red flame motif, Naruto had found one of his older ones, before he'd gotten the style down. It was a soft yellow, with an orange wind motif at the hem, the kanji for 'golden storm' sewn into the back, what people called him in Konoha before he got the nickname 'yellow flash', he wore it over bare skin, leaving his chest and stomach exposed to the elements.

"All set, Musuko?"

"**Hai, Chichiue" **

"It's been a while since you where here last, how about I show you around town?" Arashi offered

"**Hai, explore!"** Arashi laughed as they set of. Happy to be reunited with his son after so long.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: Woah, longest chapter to date.

This chapter contains my interpretation of some of the characters, I particularly like the Gai one, which came to me as I as writing this chapter, I just thought 'what was Gai like before finding youth' and I got this, I love how my mind works.

I'm not too sure about Naruto's outfit, sometimes I have brilliant fashion sense while others It seems like I'm colour blind, if you want to draw it just tell me your DeviantArt account so I can check it out, or else wherever it is that you post it.

On Naruto's eyes: The way I see it, Naruto draws on the kyuubi's chakra instinctively when he feels the need to make himself stronger, in this fic, Naruto has the instinct born paranoi he needed to survive in the wild, as such, he's always on alert, therefore always in his no tailed state (vs Haku, also seen at VoTE). Respectively, if Naruto feels the need to make himself small, to disappear so to speak (like back at the ramen stand), his desire to appear insignificant causes him to repress the latent demon chakra, which is why his eyes went back to blue temporarily.

On a side note, Naruto's replacement, Dareko Daremo; literally means 'Someone No-one', I felt it was an appropriate name for someone who had relevance, but was still unimportant.

Read…um…**Entwined Tails **by **MountainWind **for one of the most cracktastic harem fics ever


	13. Behind Closed Doors, Out in the Open

A/N: Naruto explores his former home, and gets to know his new friend better. Meanwhile, sake brings out things even the drinker doesn't know.

Aargh, sorry for getting this to you so late, but I recently started work experience and I've been flat on my feet the past few days, seriously this was supposed to be posted by Monday.

Summary: One fateful night in Konohagakure, the Yondaime Hokage chose his village over his only son; only time will tell if he made the right choice. Feral!Naruto, NaruXAnko, SakuxIno in later chapters

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto yada yada

Key: Normal, "Speech" _'Thoughts' _** "Demon Speech" **_**'Demon Thoughts'**_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Chapter 13

Behind Closed Doors, and Out in the Open

With Naruto 

Naruto let out a joyful laugh as he flew from rooftop to rooftop, the wind blowing through his hair and causing his new coat to trail behind him. He was currently racing around Konoha, a race he wasn't sure he could win, and he loved it. From the air, the crowds that seemed unstoppable looked like insects that could be toyed with, or ignored. As for said pedestrians, all they could see where two blurs, one orange, one yellow.

"**Ne, Chichiue, what's that?"**

"That's the Hokage monument, it portrays all the leaders of Konoha, past and present" His father replied

"**Which is you?"**

"The fourth one"

"Looks like you ate bad meat" 

"For some reason the sculptors seemed to think I had to be serious"

"Ha, what's that?" 

"That's the ninja academy, where we train our children"

"Haha! What's that?" Naruto asked, flipping mid leap before sing the side of a building as a springboard. 

"It's the Yamanaka Florists, they sell flowers there, all sorts"

"**Ooh, Lets go!" **Twisting mid-flight, Naruto pivoted his body and landed on someone's windows, before launching himself at the open door to the Yamanaka family store. Or at least, it _was_ open.

There was an audible crack as face met wood, and exchanged pleasantries.

"What the hell? Was that a bird?" The only child of Yamanaka Inoichi opened the door; only find a confused and angry blond writhing around on the ground. Noticing the feet in front of him he paused and looked up. Above him was a towering blonde woman, smelling of a variety of different, conflicting smells, and looking at him with curiosity. He was about to say something when his earlier injury decided to make itself known, a small trickle of blood dripped down from his nose. As the Yamanaka heir saw this her eyes widened in fear

"Kyaah! Hentai!" She screamed, before slamming the door on his face, earning him a second face wound.

"Hey, Naruto. Are you okay?" His father asked, unable to decide between mirth and concern.

"**Best not come here, boar quick to defend its cave," **He mumbled, snapping his nose back into place and blinking slowly.

"Ahaha, I'll tell Inoichi you said that, where do you want to go now?" Naruto paused to consider, sniffing the air, before jumping up and racing down the street.

"Meat! Meat! Ahahaha!" 

"I suppose that means he's hungry then" Arashi chuckled to himself before chasing after him. He failed to notice the flash of pink as he sped past.

With Sakura 

'_Was that…Arashi-sempai?' _She shook her head as if to dispel the notion.

'_Doesn't matter, still got to decide where to go for dinner…' _She glanced up, hoping a restaurant would materialise in front of her.

"Hey, Sakura! Over here!"

'_Nope…not unless I can eat Ino…wait!' _She had to fight down a blush as her experience with Anko rushed through her head yet again.

'Crazy snake woman, putting strange ideas in my head' 

"Ah, hey Ino" The pink haired kunoichi replied glumly.

"Eh? What's the matter?"

"Nothing, just…tough day I suppose…tough week" She replied, yawning for emphasis.

"Tough mission?"

"Yeah"

"You wanna tell me about it?" Ino asked, ever the gossip queen.

"I…I guess"

"Hey, I heard this new restaurant from Asuma-sensei, it opened a few months ago, lets go check it out, you can tell me about it over a good meal"

"Heh, I guess Chouji is starting to rub off on you"

"Well, having an aspiring connoisseur on your team, you can't help but start to appreciate food more" Ino shrugged, laughing.

"I suppose, so where is this restaurant?"

"Here, I'll take you there" Ino said, grabbing Sakura's hand and leading her off. Sakura couldn't help but smile, it was just like when they where children. With Ino leading, and Sakura following.

With Anko 

There was an audible gulp, followed by the sound of flesh tearing as the snake devoured its meal.

"Ahh, Two More!" She shouted out, pointing her now empty dango sticks aggressively, a sake-induced blush on her cheeks. The bartender let out a grunt, before supplying her with more of the fabled meat known as Dango.

Anko eyed the other occupants of the bar as she chewed absent-mindedly on the fresh stick of dango.

'_Too old, to young, gay, gay, gay, stuck up, pin dick, prefers sheep, prefers sheep, but wouldn't say no to a pig, real animal in the sa-wait, isn't that…' _She smirked and launched her half eaten stick of dango. A split second later a strong pair of jaws snapped around it, breaking the stick in the process. Anko got up and sauntered towards her target, who was now chewing contently.

"Well, if it isn't fox-boy himself, along with Mr. 'faster-than-a-speeding-bullet' Arashi, what brings you here?"

"According to Naruto; 'meat'" he chuckled softly. Anko had to admit, now that he'd gotten over most of the initial shock, he actually seemed almost sane, almost the glint of madness was ever present in his eyes, but the confusion that normally accompanied it was no-where to be found.

'_I guess it's because for the first time in years he knows what he wants…'_

"**He-'gulp' Hebi-Hime!" **The younger blonde said excitedly, grinning.

"What's wrong gaki, miss me already? Like the new look, by the way" She said, grinning back at him.

"**Ha!" **Was his simply reply, accompanied by him puffing out his chest.

'Was that a comeback, or a thankyou?' 

"Hey Barkeep! Can we get some sake around here?"

"Ano…Hokage-sama says I'm not supposed to drink sake," Arashi offered weekly. Anko groaned, it was easy to forget Naruto wasn't the only one with a child-mind

"No she doesn't" When dealing with children…

"But she-"

"Nu-uh" …talk in a language they understand.

"But"

"Just drink the stuff" She said, grabbing a passing bottle of the sweet smelling alcohol and pushing it under his nose.

"I guess I could…" He said hesitantly before taking a sip.

"See, there's a good boy. You too now" She said, giving Naruto a bottle as well.

He eyed the drink cautiously before taking a hesitant sip, his face breaking into a grin he proceeded to down the entire saucer.

"**This good water, taste like…happy!" **He said, Anko laughed with glee and clasped her hands together.

"Alright! It's a party!"

_With Sakura_

Ino sat raptured as Sakura retold the story of her recent mission, idly sipping sake every few seconds. Well, as raptured as can be when said storyteller is drunk and skipping over several things.

"So where was I? Oh, right, this guy, you see? He 'hic' he almost kills us, right? So what do we do? Arashi decides to 'hic' take him back with us! Then a- 'hic'-gain, Arashi did say he was his son…or something; I guess they kind of look alike, what with the blonde hair. But that kid 'hic', he's a monster! He talks _in this deep voice _and he's got these red eyes, absolutely no manners! Last time I 'hic' saw him he still wasn't wearing any pants!"

"Wait a minute, he was naked the whole time?" Her drinking companion started, somewhat surprised by the revelation.

"'Hic', kind of" Said pink haired nin replied, before taking another gulp from the bottle of sake.

"What did he…y'know…_look like_?" Ino asked, an odd gleam in her eye.

"I already told you 'hic', like the blonde spawn of the devil"

"That's not what I mean…" She said dejectedly, her head drooping in exasperation.

"Wait, did you say blonde hair? Same as Yondaime-sama's?"

"'hic', yeah why?"

"Coz he's sitting over there eating…dango?" Ino said, pointing towards a table and squinting.

"Wha-? Hide me!" Sakura cried out, before trying to use Ino as a human shield.

"He doesn't seem anywhere near as bad as you make him out to be, see he's even talking with Anko-sempai"

"'Hic', bah, Anko's only got her mind on one thing"

"Eh? What's that?" Ino asked her curiosity piqued. Sakura just blushed

"Er…well…that is…having fun! Yeah" Her mind drifted back to what Anko said,

"It's all about what makes you happy, and when you're happy, nothing else matters" 

"I-Ino?"

"Yeah?"

"I 'hic', I'm glad you're my friend…I…when everyone else left me…your still here…thank-" She was cut off as her forehead slammed into the counter.

"Heh, never did have much tolerance for alcohol, come on, let's get you home" Ino said, leaving some money on the counter and hoisting her unconscious friend over her shoulder.

With Naruto 

Anko watched fascinated as Naruto's sobriety flew out the window, at the moment he was attempting to hunt the table napkin. He glared at it for a full ten seconds before attempting to pounce on it, succeeding only in bashing his legs against the table.

"**Ow, bah, stupid prey, stay still!" **he turned to glare at Anko when she started laughing. Arashi watched the whole scene, calming sipping from his saucer, his mind melting under its intoxicating rays.

"I think your drunk, Naruto"

"**No, **Yo**u dri**nk" He slurred, one eye flickering from red to blue and back again.

"Riight…"

"I…dr**ink you, you is…wa**te**r"**

"Yup, your drunk"

"**Gaah! You not **drink, you **food. **I **eat you!" **There was an awkward silence as Anko tried to stifle a laugh. Arashi stood up and made his way to the door, a vacant expression on his face.

"Naruto, you remember where my house is right?"

"**Yaar!" **There was the sound of glass breaking, Arashi didn't even flinch, his mind switched off for the day.

"Right, see you there…"

With Ino 

"Y-y'know what Ino?"

"No, what is it Sakura?"

"Men. They're all bastards!" The pink haired drunk accentuated the statement by spitting on the ground; almost breaking Ino's holding on her.

"I know"

"I mean, one minute they're your best bud, the next, they've run off with an older man! Like we don't even exist"

"I know"

"I mean, do snakes even have a vagina? Or an asshole? Where's the fun in a snake? Then again, they say some snakes can swallow small animals whole so…"

"You really do have an odd way of expressing your inner turmoil, don't you?"

"Stupid snake, Anko was right, it don't matter"

"What doesn't matter?" Before Sakura could reply, she recognised a familiar apartment building.

"Hey! It's my house, yay"

"I suppose I'd better make sure you get to bed alright"

"Sure thing Ino-chan"

'Tch, Ino-chan, she hasn't called me that in years…' 

_With Anko_

"**Stay St**ill" Naruto half-growled. Struggling to maintain his footing as he raced across the rooftops, a task made all the more harder by his blurry vision.

"Nu-uh, you'll have to catch me first" Anko taunted, a few short metres ahead of him, her superior alcohol tolerance giving her the upper hand against his inhuman speed.

"**Fine, **I** will" **He snarled, playfully. His whole body tensed for a moment, before he leapt, tackling Anko in the process.

They tumbled for a few metres before coming to a stop at the edge of the rooftop, Naruto on top, Anko on bottom.

"I **got **you!" He grinned triumphantly, Anko grinned back"

"Nope, I got you" She lent forward and kissed him deeply.

With Ino 

Ino sighed as the sound of retching echoed out from the bathroom.

"You really shouldn't drink so much, Sakura. I think Tsunade's been a bad influence on you". All she got in reply was the sound of the toilet flushing and water being gargled, a few seconds later Sakura walked in, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Come on, let's get you to bed then" Sakura gave no protest as she was dragged through the hallway and into her modest bedroom.

"But I'm not ti-red" She whined.

"Yes you are" As she swayed next to the bed, Ino pulled down the bed sheets and pushed her in.

"See? All good, now get to sleep, I'll come see you in the morning, ok?" Ino turned to leave but was stopped as a hand shot out and grabbed er wrist.

"I-I-Ino-chan…can you please…stay with me?" She pleaded, giving Ino her best 'puppy dog eyes'. Her blonde friend struggled to resist for a few seconds before caving in.

"Ok, I guess I can spend the night here, just to make sure you stay out of trouble". Stripping down to her undergarments, Ino crawled into the bed with Sakura.

"Goodnight, Sakura" She turned to see her pink haired friend's eyes where already closed.

"D-d-don't ever leave me, ok?"

'Is she talking about her old teammates?' With Naruto 

Naruto froze, his mind trying to process what just happened. He wasn't sure what it was, but…he knew it wasn't bad.

"Aw, your poor baby, was that your first kiss? Don't worry, I'll show you how its done" Anko laughed before pressing her lips against his again. He was close to panicking when he felt her tongue slip into his mouth, out of reflex he began sucking on it, thinking it a piece of tender meat. A few seconds later they broke apart, gasping for air, a look of hunger adorned the blonde's face.

"See? You know what you want," She said, starting to pull down her jacket.

"Now's when the real fun begins"

With Sakura 

Ino gasped as her intoxicated companion hugged her forcefully.

"S-Sakura?" A single delicate finger being held over her mouth silenced her.

"Shhh, this is all for you, it always was."

"Mmpf"

"You approached me, Ino-chan. You picked me up when I fell, you where there for me, always there. But…you stopped looking at me, and started looking at _him_. I-I didn't know what to do, so I threw myself at him…between you and him, so that you'd look at me again."

'Did she…really only chase after Sasuke to get my attention?' 

"But he's gone now, its just us, Ino-chan and me, how it always should have been."

Ino could feel her heart racing as her childhood friend drew closer, closer, their lips almost touching…

(Lemon starts now)

_With Naruto_

He looked on hungrily as Anko performed her quasi-strip tease, clawing the roof tiles impatiently as his instincts roared at him, and if there's one thing Uzumaki Naruto does, its listen to his instincts.

"Waah" Anko half-screamed, half-laughed as he pushed her down. His sharp claws made short work of her heavy outer garment. A second swipe and her chain mesh top were severed, hitting the roof with a soft 'clunk'. Anko shivered slightly as her exposed skin met the cold evening air.

"Heh, you know, everyone can see us" She chuckled slightly. Naruto tilted his head as if to say 'so?' before returning his attention to the two mounds before him.

He reached out and scraped a claw along her left breast, from the base all the way up to her nipple, eliciting a low moan from the snake summoner. Pausing for a moment to sniff his finger, he then proceeded to lick the length of her breast.

"Haaa, you're a natural at this, you know?" Seemingly ignoring her comment, Naruto continued his licking, his tongue slowly making its way to her nether regions…

With Ino 

Ino was surprised by the sensation as Sakura kissed her lips, most boys had been forceful kissers in her experience, trying to assert their dominance, but Sakura's lips almost seemed to be massaging her own, such was their gentleness.

"Mmmm…" She let out a soft moan as slender fingers danced their way down her back, before sliding all the way back up to her neck. A slight, pink tongue slipped into her mouth and stroked the flesh within.

She could feel her body tingling with anticipation as one by one the fastenings holding her top on came undone. Her hand trembled as her modest breasts fell into view.

"Ino-chan's so pretty" Sakura giggled, holding one hand to her mouth as though to hold back her amusement" Ino just looked away, blushing furiously with embarrassment.

With Naruto 

With a silent _swish_ of his clawsAnko's pale orange panties fell to shreds beneath the two, her womanhood exposed before hungry eyes. She let out a gasp as heated breath washed over sensitive skin.

"We-unnn" Any witty comment was caught in her mouth as a rough tongue swept across her slit. Her back arched at the second lick as a wave of pleasure shot through her.

"This…is fun!" She gasped between pants, a look of pure lust upon her face.

"Aah! More!"

With Ino 

Sakura leaned forward and nibbled on her blonde partner's ear as she toyed with the blue-eyed girls breasts. Lowering her head slightly, she scraped her teeth along the side of her neck, eliciting a soft whimper. She lowered her head further still and latched her mouth onto a hardened nipple. Ino gasped as her fellow kunoichi rolled it around in her mouth, chewing lightly as she did so. Sakura's free hand reached down and cupped her right buttock, causing Ino's blush to deepen at the sudden contact.

"P-Please…more" She begged.

With Anko 

Naruto grunted once as he acknowledged the request. Grabbing her sides forcefully he flipped over so she was on all fours, her rear presented towards him like a ritualistic offering.

"Come o-n, hurry" Anko pleaded, wiggling her ass provocatively. Naruto fumbled with his pants for a moment before successfully prying off the button, allowing them to fall around his ankles. Grinning e carefully aligned himself with the elder woman's entrance, before plunging in.

With Ino 

Sakura smiled serenely as she heard Ino's request. Rolling the blonde onto her back, she disappeared beneath the bed covers. Ino's heart raced with anticipation as she felt her underwear get pulled down slowly…then

"Aaah!" She let out a cry at the unfamiliar sensation, before settling into a prolonged moan as the girls tongue probed her inner sanctum.

"Sooo goood"

With Anko 

"Feels…so good" Anko gasped as she felt the untamed teens full length fill her to the core. Slowly he began to thrust into her, back and forth, each time she pushed back to meet him. She let out a cry as sharp claws dug into her shoulders, mixing blood with sweat. Crimson chakra swirled around him as he quickened his pace.

With Ino 

The blonde girl clutched the bedsheets frenetically as pins and needles spread throughout her body, every breath a gasp for air.

"Gnnnn! Don't…stop…Aah!" She let out a gasp as her green-eyed friend moved up slightly, transferring her full attention to the blonde's clit, scraping her teeth across it every couple of seconds.

"I…I'm gonna…"

With Anko 

"Ah! Close, so close…" The sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed moistly as the day's light rapidly faded out of view. Her breasts swung to-and-fro like a pair of pendulums. The fierce, red chakra occasionally licked across her lower back, eliciting cries of pleasure and pain, leaving thin red welts at their touch.

"So-o close…" Her entire body started to shudder as their copulation reached its apex.

With Ino 

"I-I can't…hold out…much longer," She groaned, through gritted teeth. She could feel the muscles in her body systematically tensing as her pleasure reached it's peak.

"S-S-S-Sakuraa…!" She cried out as her orgasm washed over her, her mind completely blank of everything except the feeling of gratification.

With Anko 

"GrrrraAAAAAAH" He let out an inhuman cry as he pumped his seed inside her, to which she responded to in kind as she experienced her own climax.

There was a sudden gush of wind and suddenly all the red chakra vanished, as though swept away. Panting, she turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of blue as he fell into unconsciousness.

"Now THAt was a good fuck" She gasped, pulling his now limp member out of herself and sitting up on her knees. She crawled over to his prone body and hoisted him up, over her shoulder.

"He'd better be up for round two when he wakes up" She grinned, as she made her way to her house.

With Ino 

When her mind came back down, the first thing she noticed was an eerie silence, broken only by the sound of Sakura noisily lapping up the last of her juices. A few seconds later she could see her companions face peering at her from beneath the covers, accompanied by an audible 'smack' as she licked her lips.

"Feel better?"

"Y-yeah" She hesitantly answered.

"I'm glad" Ino yawned, the land of nod quickly claiming her. She was dimly aware of Sakura saying something before she fell away. It sounded like,

"I love you, Ino-chan" With Kakashi 

The silver haired jounin was humming to himself as he read the last few pages of his book, satisfied with a day well spent.

'_I can't help but feel I was supposed to meet with Arashi-sensei for something…something urgent…hot coffee? Nah. Oh well, can't have been that important" _He shrugged before departing for his home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N, well there's that yuri I promised. BEHOLD! SYNCHRONISED CITRUS!

I feel kinda awkward with how I ended the SakuxIno one, but I felt it important to illustrate the different motives for sex between the couples

A cookie to anyone who gets the joke with Kakashi at the end, both levels, and no, he wasn't spying on either of them. On a side note, who remembers a certain scene near the beginning of chapter 4? And how does it relate to this chapter here?

Having written this chapter, I'm tempted to leave the fic at this, since it was only meant as an experiment in the first place, basically, I can end it now, or rather, put it on indefinite hiatus, in case I want to pick it up later if/when I get more ideas. Or else I can end it in 4-5 chapters with a slightly less open ended ending with an opening for a sequel should I decide to. Keep in mind the ending I have in mind involves little action, and probably won't be that good, and will result in my other fic being postponed for over a fortnight. I already feel the quality of this fic is waning, and I want to start work on my yet to be named 'epic rewrite' after about a weeks break when I finish with this, so if I leave it as-is, I can get to work on my other fic sooner. What do you guys think?


	14. AN

I have decide, the Right Choice is on indefinite hiatus until further notice, I may, at random, post new chapters, if I feel the urge or something.

As a sort of, farewell present, I will sped this chapter summarising each chapter, and including my own thoughts, at the end, is the notes I used to write the fic, to show you how things deviated from the original plan etc…on second thoughts, I'll put that first.

Chap 1. go over night of sealing

Chap 2. some years hence, Naruto just got thrown out of the orhanage, attempts to steal food, gets caught, runs, eventually rendered unconscious, wary of releasing the kyuubi, they escape and dump him near kusa

Chap 3. Naruto wakes up lost and alone in some woods(not a forest). Hears whispers in his mind telling him what to do(i.e kyuubi). Kills a rabbit and eats it, finds a camp but keeps to the edge, establish his fear of humans. , have him flee when one almost finds him. At end of chapter hint at yondaime's revival(i.e 6 ys later...a tall blonde young man awoke to find himself in a clearing.etc)

Chap 4. Yondi manages to get near the gates before passing out(weakened body, no food in its stomach,) Wakes up in hospital with Sandaime, recalls his last memories, fighting in Shinigami's stomach, shinigami mentioning a deal being broken. Remembers Naruto, demands to know about him, gets frantic when told he's missing, presumed dead.

Chap 5. Yondaime's re-entry to the world, won't be hokage again, at least not until his body is back into shape. Meets Kakashi, Talks with Teuchi about Naruto

Chap 6.Summarise what has happened in Naruto's absence under pretense of Yondaime leaving, Orochimaru didn't invade but still put the curse seal on Sasuke., Sasuke left, Naruto's replacement on is team died trying to bring him back, (Note:as itachi never fought Kakashi, kakashi doesn't know about the Mangekyo), Tsunade came back to heal Sarutobi, stayed for med-nin program(sakura the same). Konohamaru trained by Sandaime every now and then as Arashi can help take the load off him, and he doesn't have his hands full due to Naruto. Have Yondaime, Kakashi, Sakura and (female pairing for N) leave on a mission to investigate reports of strange sightings on the edge of Fire Country.

Chap 7. investigation, hints towards a jinchuuriki, find evidence of a battle(akatsuki), follow trail,eventually find Naruto

Chap 8. Naruto encounters team, recognises Yondaime from Kyuubi's memories, attacks him. (note, when passive he's in his no-tails state, when attacking spouts 1st tail immediantly and sprouts others one after another a fight goes on). His motive is he wants to see the power that could stop a demon). During fight takes out Kakashi, and sakura(unless she's the pairing), gets more and more exited as he forces Yondaime to fight more seriously(reluctant at first), just when he's about to land a killing blow, (pairing) manages to land a hit from behind, and gets finished off by a Rasengan. Yondaime laments over the outcome of his choice.

Chap 9. Transporting Naruto back to konoha, he wakes up but offers little resistance, having been defeated and now weakened. Somewhat flirts with (pairing) ,calling her strong, himself stronger, and yondaime strongest.(note, he can speak, since he absorbed the Kyuubi's knowledge, but uses basic words, and few adjectives). Explains to Yondaime how and why he destroyed kyuubi(Realised kyuubi was trying to gain control of him, tore off the seal, which broke the deal with Shinigami, the proceeded to 'attack and eat' kyuubi within his mindscape, as his will was iron solid having been tempered by solitude and madness). Shape of seal is now branded on his stomach (it burnt off) and he has full access to all the kyuubi's power and knowledge, although his body can only handle so much( currently six tails, 6th is same as 4th is canon as he's lost control), if not here then bring up Naruto's hatred for traitors, calling them 'kinslayers'. Have Sakura reflect on past experiences with boys/men come up unsatisfied.(have her dated lee for a while, then broke up.

Chap 10, arrival in Konoha, when in a crowd, naruto has flashbacks of his childhood, has a panic attack and flees, others search for him. Eventually hides in ramen store. Eventually found by (pairing who comforts him) goes to see Sarutobi, glomps him. Arashi feels regret over not being there for him. Has Naruto stay at his house(NOT a mansion, just a house)

Chap 11, exploring konoha, more flirting. Have council's Views on Naruto's return, Have Sakura meet Ino, start work on yuri pairing

Chap 12,

My Thoughts;

Chapter 1, as stated, I went over the night of the sealing, including Arashi and Sandaime's thoughts on the subject. Many fics seem to portray the Konoha council as shortsighted, incompetent old fools, and I tried to differ from that. Instead show them as serious, reasonable people who are worried about there own people…unfortunately that scene was too short, so no-one really noticed…perhaps should have made the chapter longer, and more detailed, but I was just starting out and was more concerned about my grammar and presentation at the time. Also started pairing poll at the time, options were Sakura, Anko, Hinata, and Tenten

Chapter 2, pretty much followed my plan. Not sure I pulled off the mind of a child as well as I should have, but who really knows how those brats think? As for the two chuunin? They pretty much followed the standard protocol of an evil duo, one short, one tall, one intelligent (kinda) and one a bit thick, and no, they weren't anyone important, just two random guys. Also, I accidentally left out Sakura on the pairing polls…oncve again, sorry to all NaruSaku fans out there, but I don't like that pairing anyway.

Chapter 3, same as plan. I feel I could have developed his fear of humans a bit better…then again, that was pretty much forgotten later on so who cares? I also added Inuzuka Hana, which I had intended to do from the beginning but forgot, Shizune and Kurenai since I got a vote for each of them. Also got a request to kill Hinat…considered it briefly.

Chapter 4, had the thing about Anko's panties, the thing about Sarutobi reading Icha-Icha…which as far as I'm concerned is canonical. Followed plan…but decided to finish up before he woke up.

Chapter 5, pretty much used what got left out of chapter 4, postponed meeting with other people. A little experimentation with barley sane human emotions…, I also tried to give Arashi several traits which Naruto often exhibits(berserker mode, etc) which people normally contribute to Kyuubi…which makes little sense in my opinion. The way I see it, Naruto goes berserker, and as a result, instinctively starts drawing on Kyuubi's chakra, not the other way around…did anyone pick up on the line I used from the Simpsons?

Chapter 6, Whole plan got pushed back to make room for the meeting with Kakashi, really like how this one turned out, especially the first scene with all the 'interpretations'. Something of an experiment in crack fiction. Made Arashi certifiably insane. Also, seems most people thought I meant Hanabi when I said 'hana'…shame really…

Chapter 7, Followed plan (for chp 6), spent more time on gathering the team than what had happened…also I originally planned for Sarutobi to have survived, and the invasion to have not taken place, since I couldn't decide what to do with Gaara…one idea was to have him reformed…kinda…after receiving a thrashing from Naruto while on a mission…decided to toss most of the invasion out the window. Also broke my promise for no yuri, but its so easy to right Anko as either bi or gay. Oh yeah, Anko won the polls by technicality…I was kinda hoping Hana would win, since I've always had a soft spot for that pairing (despite how rare it is, the best one being **The Void,)**. That comment Shizune made about Kakashi…I don't think many people got that, and looking over it…I feel it should have been removed or made more obvious. Meh

Chapter 8, Followed plan (for chapter 7),, misspelt Hokage…in case no one realised it, it was Itachi and Kisame who had attacked Naruto earlier. Quite liked the flashback…Bit more yuri…by the end of this chapter I had the idea for the SakuIno in my head.

Chapter 9, Followed plan (for chapter 8), I feel I did well in the fight scene, in regards to how when he went 6 tailed, in was like when he canonically goes 4 tailed; the way I see it, he starts bleeding(the cause for the black shroud) when he is no longer in control of his actions, or rather, is practically fighting unconscious. Arashi's 'mass hiraishin kunai summon technique' as I said, is off one of post-skip Tenten's ougi's on Narutimate Hero Accel, which I simply felt was the next logical step with the hiraishin, instead of having his subordinates throw them. I went with the Narutimate hero version of 'Twin Snake Suicide' because A) the original version uses poison, which I doubt would have effected Naruto, and B) I needed a powerful, last resort technique for Anko to use to give Arashi an opening. …although I said it took me 4hrs to write that chapter…2 1/2 was me getting distracted by tv and emails…

Chapter 10, followed plan (for 9), am quite proud of the title he gave his father (shining storm), the storm part came from the literal definition of Arashi, the shining part came from the 'yellow flash' of the Hiraishin. I had trouble-maintaining Arashi as borderline insane during these chapters as he qas in his 'mission mode', at first, then he was depressed and guilty over Naruto. I also feel I made Naruto too accepting of their presence, and he came across as too trusting than he should have. Left out part an the Seal leaving a scar on his stomach…didn't matter anyway…postponed Sakura's reflection on past boyfriends etc till chapter 11. Spelled 'Excited' wrong.

Chapter 11, followed plan (for 10), this chapter was alright by my standards…skipped out on scene with Sandaime since…well…I killed him…had naruto's eyes go blue, explained why in 12, I just felt it would be an interesting contrast ro0m his eyes going red when angry, to them going blue when he's relaxed (as opposed to being tense all the time), or scared.

Chapter 12, forwent the plan altogether, as was having too much fun with my own analysis of certain characters. I also chose to make Tsunade and Kakashi wary of Naruto since any smart person should have been (unstable person with great power, and little restraint, in a place that he considers hostile, amongst people who consider him hostile, who wouldn't be concerned?), Sakura never seems the type to think outside the box, and the rest are nutjobs so yeah…I really like the history I thought up for Gai, read **20 truths about Might Gai by **, for an alternative history that I also like. Anko's history, well basically, everyone either portrays Anko as a nymphomaniac, or simply hiding behind a happy mask, like many believe Naruto is. So I felt the need to connect the two, and give a logical reason for it. Something I do quite often, I frequently try to work out the sciences of things that seem impossible, rather than just blame magic. Unfortunately, techniques like Kawamiri I still find difficult to explain, namely, if its teleportation, why do they use a log? Etc. This can be seen in my writings, and will be more present in my next fic, as it involves a lot of techniques, both canonical, and my own. Sakura's was something that is used a lot in movies etc, but I don't see being applied to Sakura as often as you would expect(the 'throwing self into work' thing) since humans automatically seek escapes from problems they can't, or don't want to deal with. The scene with Naruto and Arashi, could have been a bit longer, but I didn't feel like writing the bath scene. I like the outfit I gave him, but am unsure about the colours…

Chapter 13, kinda followed the plan(for chapter 11), but disregarded exploring in favor of setting up lemons, which I decided to do while writing the previous chapter. The scene with Naruto and ino…probably wasn't necessary but I left it in there to help link everything together, kinda like how you get those things where it goes over what happened to each person on a single day, and you see how they interact without knowing it…whatever. The lemons themselves…I think I did alright, having read a lot of adult orientated fiction in my time (go to  for some decent stuff, not for the underage, also  I can't help but feel I rushed into the sex a bit to quickly, but then I just fall back on the 'they were drunk thing', also I knew the fic would end soon regardless of wether I kept posting chapters or night and wouldn't have much time to develop pairing beyond this chapter anyway. Especially since Sakura and Ino aren't suitable ability-wise to go in missions together. I like how I contrasted the two sex scenes next to each other, wasn't easy to write mind you…it was hard to stop them from doing the same thing twice, with different names. Oh, and the joke with Kakashi at the end was because A) everyone on the team but him and Arashi got laid that night, B), I considered doing yaoi at one point, C) The 'feeling' he had was hundreds of yaoi fangirls across our world trying to get him to have sex with his sensei.

The next chapter was/will be the morning after…and have the councils talk on Naruto which got left out of chapter 13, and would start building up towards the ending

On a side note, The Yondaime was officially confirmed as naruto's dad in the latest Manga chapter, and his name was Namikaze Minato (which sounds kinda feminine to me), I will leave his name as Kazama Arashi in this fic, but it will be Minato in the any/every others. Interestingly enough, 'Minato' means 'harbour', or 'port', while 'Namikaze' is the words 'nami' meaning 'wave', and 'kaze' meaning 'wind' which gets you 'wind wave', which is what most waves that people surf on are (a wave caused by wind pushing the water). Although the Kanji used to spell it might mean something different…


End file.
